Author's Note: Herro *u* I started off thinking of a concept for this story when I wanted to make a Spamano one-shot(Because you can neva have enough Spamano. ovo) But it looks like this will be a two-parter. xD
Furthermore, if anyone likes it, I can continue it like a collection of stories, as different ships with the same common theme. (This whole doll-red-string-of-fate-Hope-Despair-business) (I actually don't really dislike any ships so I'm pretty much okay with anything xD)
Please review/favorite if you like it! I'd really appreciate that. Even if you have difficulty expressing yourself in English. You should hear me speak Italian/German/Spanish. I totally empathize. 8'D Anyway, enjoyyyyy~!
"Diez, nueve, ocho..."
Antonio unwrapped his package of grapes. Lovino's scowl deepened. This wine is too bitter.
"Siete, seis, cinco...get ready, Lovi!"
The Spaniard lined up the twelve grapes, and Lovino observed them with contempt. White and seedless. The wine would be sweeter if the bastard used those kinds of grapes for it instead of whatever the hell he's doing now with them.
His eyes flicked back to the TV, where the countdown was commencing. The countdown to a New Year.
Damn, last year's harvest was rough...I'm worried...
"Cuatro, tres, dos...uno!"
There it was; officially January first. Suddenly, the TV started to chime. With each chime, Antonio downed a grape. Lovino looked at him quizzically.
"Is this a new diet fad people are doing this year?" he frowned at the grape-eating man, who finished the twelfth one on the final chime. Lovi was met with joyful emerald eyes, blinking at him innocently.
"What? It's just a tradition my people do on New Year's," Antonio shrugged casually, personally pleased he managed to swallow each grape in time for the chimes. "I ate the grapes fast enough, so I'll have a prosperous year! At least, that's how the tradition's supposed to go."
Not caring much for Spanish traditions, the Italian boy merely pouted in another direction. "Stupido. Eating grapes isn't going to sprout the tomatoes."
A rich chuckle floated through the air in response to this. Lovino felt a firm hand on his shoulder, and jumped in both surprise and embarrassment. He glared daggers at Toni, but nothing could break through his indestructible smile.
"Lighten up, Lovi! Aren't you wishing for a good year too? I know I am!"
"..." Trying to lessen the burning redness in his cheeks, Lovi ceased eye contact with the awfully-physical Spaniard, and instead let his gaze drift to the floor. In all honesty, he did hope for a prosperous year as well. But he wasn't going to admit he was wishing for that kind of thing, and he certainly wasn't going to start gulping down grapes for it.
"It's late, Lovi. Let's head to bed." Noticing the embarrassment in the boy's hazel eyes, Antonio let go and got up from his seat, switching the TV off. Lovino puffed his cheeks out and sighed sharply. It wasn't that late.
"Whatever."
The next morning, an irritated Lovino woke to the sensation of careless sunlight seeping through the window blinds. But this sunlight felt strange to him- it felt...cold. He reluctantly opened his eyes as fuzzy laughter and sounds of excitement slowly drifted into his hearing. He groaned, recognizing the voice all too well, and remembering where he was.
He threw off the covers and shuffled out to the living room area, where the laughter became clearer. He followed the noise towards the door to the backyard, where he finally saw what all the fuss was about.
"Lovi, hombre! Look at this!"
Antonio was rolling around in a thick blanket of snow. He threw it in the air and sank his bare skin in it, exposed by his pajama T-shirt. He hadn't even taken the time to put on a coat or gloves.
"Idiota." Lovino mumbled, and stared at the blindingly white landscape in dismay. It was still snowing, and quite heavily. There was no way the sliver of sunlight slipping through the clouds was going to affect this thick of a sheet at all.
It looks like the winter might be extra long this year... That means it'll probably cut into tomato season. Dammit...
"It's a miracle, amigo! Un milagro! This is going to be a marvelous year, I just know it!"
Lovino huffed at the overjoyed fool, but opted to make his way towards him anyway. He slipped on some shoes and headed out into the chilly Wonderland.
Unfortunately, this Wonderland was hiding some darkness- or, rather, some ice on the ground.
The Italian felt his control slip from under his feet as he immediately tumbled to the ice-covered concrete concealed in snow below him. He let out a startled yelp, which instantly perked Toni's ears, and he sat up from his place in the deceiving powder.
"Lovi?" he leapt up and practically flew to his disgruntled friend, reaching out a concerned hand. "Are you alright?"
His face was painted with worry, but as soon as Lovi saw this, he felt frustration and anger boil over inside him. How many times had he seen that face at the most unnecessary of moments? Too many times to count. Each annoying memory added fuel to his fuse, and he promptly smacked Toni's hand away from his face, much to the man's shock.
"Do you think I'm useless?!" he snapped, glaring up at the man indignantly with glistening eyes. "Why do you always act like I can't do anything myself?!"
Time seemed to stand still as a moment of pained and confused silence drifted through the air, before Lovino fiercely bit his lip and hurried away. He was still skidding on the ice as he fled.
"Lovino?" Antonio straightened up and called out to him, even more concerned than before. And suddenly, he was left alone in the pure white yard. "...?"
Stupid. Stupid. Such things as playing in the snow were all just stupid. Only an idiota like him would want to do something like that.
"Ve~ Ve~!"
As Lovino walked down the snow-stained streets, a familiar voice neared him more and more. As he approached his house, it became evident it was none other than his brother, Feliciano, attempting to make snow angels in the middle of the road.
...Well, I guess he's not the only idiota.
"Fratello, get up. You're gonna get run over." Lovi grumbled nonchalantly to his brother as he passed him to head into their house, as if such a scenario had occurred before.
"Ah-! Lovino? You're home! Ehh? You've been playing in the snow in your PJ's too?" Feli hopped up and followed his dearest brother into the house. Lovino merely grimaced and kicked off his shoes.
"No. Twerp."
The fact that Lovi wasn't rambling his mouth off about how annoying something was alarmed Feli. "Fratello, what's the matter? Ohh-! You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? I'll make it for you!"
The bubbly Italian jolted off to the kitchen, leaving his scowling brother in the entrance room. "I still have some pasta left, and all kinds of stuff!" his cheerful voice echoed through the halls.
Lovino let his eyes scan the decorated walls as he made his way to the kitchen. Every inch of every wall was adorned with some magnificent painting- all painted by his brother. His eyes narrowed, and then lowered, until finally he decided it was better for his spirits if he just stared at the floor instead.
As he approached the kitchen, he was met by the aroma of cooking pasta and chopped vegetables. Everything that was being prepared had the look and scent of simple deliciousness. As Feli cooked, he sang aloud to one of his favorite songs about the world coming together and holding hands in a big circle. Lovino couldn't help but notice his voice was light and sweet. Almost angelic. Or is it past "almost?"...
A short while later, the food was on the table. "Eat up, Lovino!" Feli smiled a child-like smile before digging in himself. Lovino took a bite- the Italian cuisine instantly melted in his mouth perfectly.
"..."
Perfectly.
"Feliciano."
"Sì-?"
"You painted all these paintings hung all over the walls, didn't you?"
"Sì-."
"And you cooked all this food in front of us, didn't you?"
"Fratello, you saw me cook i-"
"And you sang all those pretty songs that make people smile. ...Didn't you?"
"Loviiii, are you alright...?"
"..." The Southern Italian's gaze fell to his beautifully-filled plate of food for a minute more. Finally, he felt his lip quiver, and stopped fighting the urge to leave. He abruptly stood up from the table and took in a shallow breath.
"You can finish my plate, Feli. I need to run."
He briskly walked over to his shoes and jammed them on- this time making sure to grab a coat from the nearby coat rack- and vanished out the door, leaving behind his confused brother and perfectly good banquet.
The snowfall had finally lightened by the time he reached the empty park.
Lovino sensed the silent echoes of children's laughter ring throughout the vacant area, haunting it. Where had the children gone? Was it just too cold and too early to play here at this hour?
...For some reason, the emptiness saddened him. In such a place, the snow was not meant to be observed alone.
He breathed a frosty sigh, showing his displeasure to no one, and brushed the snow off of the seat of an inviting blue swing set. He sat down and rocked gently, tilting his head up to the cool grey sky.
This sucks...without kids playing here, this whole place is useless.
He squinted at the stiff, silver clouds, crawling frigidly through the heavens above him.
...It's fitting for me to be here, then.
Another worthless sigh. But this time, perhaps it wasn't so devoid of value.
"It feels lonely here, doesn't it?"
His drooping eyelids snapped open, and he jolted his head towards the unfamiliar voice. Someone was there with him?! But for how long? He hadn't heard any footsteps...!
But alas, a woman stood before him in the mesmerizing snow, somehow almost...shimmering, like the pale ground itself, basking in the narrow sunlight.
It was as if his eyes had to adjust to seeing an entity like her, very much like when the pupils adjust to the forgotten abnormality of darkness each night. Golden hair framed wise eyes and a soft smile, flowing down her shoulders and back in a comforting way, like resting wings. Her radiant skin appeared to not be affected by the harsh winter winds that occasionally assaulted the air.
"A place such as this shouldn't be empty, don't you think?" - Her voice was nothing but a constant wave of reassurance. She appeared out of place, but at the same time like a presence that was necessary to be there in order for the scene to be itself. She was like both the sun and the sun-tinted snow, coexisting in a single being. And yet...as a person...?
"Un angelo...?"
She giggled, filling up the previously-sad air with her cheerfulness. "Whatever you want to call me. I am Hope."
"Hope...?"
She approached the man, her smile turning empathetic. "You've been having a rough time recently, haven't you?"
He refused to reply, averting his eyes in needless denial. But she continued to walk towards him, shaking her head.
"It's not your fault. Despair is bullying you. He's a jerk, you see."
Lovino couldn't help but look back at the woman, 'Hope,' in puzzlement. Despair was...bullying him...?
She finally stopped walking, standing directly in front of him. Her crystal-like eyes darkened ever-so slightly.
"...He's planning on hurting you awfully. But I...won't let him. And you can do something about it."
His confusion didn't cease when she handed him the strange objects- two plain cloth dolls bundled up in a tangled mess of red string.
He hesitantly took hold of them and inspected them. He couldn't find the meaning in possessing them if he tried. "Lady, what is this...?"
"It's your contract to me. Pre-signed, of course." Her encouraging smile widened. "It represents you, and the one you truly love."
The sudden use of such words caused Lovi's face to blush pink, but she continued.
"You aren't really thinking about who on this Earth you truly love at this point in time, are you? That's alright. Whenever you're ready, right names on the dolls- your name on one, the name of who you decided is your true love on the other. And when you feel that Despair might be working his ways to tear you and that person apart, unravel the tangled-up red string. That will be a sign to me that your love is true, and I will make sure nothing harms it in any way I can. That's my promise with this contract."
"Erhm, lady..." All this 'love' talk seemed absurd to him, and he was starting to get frustrated by its unexpected existence as the topic at hand. But one thing stuck out to him especially bizarre.
"Contracts usually have a price in them, when they're something crazy like this," he spoke up at last, "I'm not too sure I can really confide in a 'contract' like this, but what is the price I'd have to pay for this kind of...protection, anyway?"
To this, the angelic blonde grinned playfully. "The price is...admitting you're in love!"
Lovino gawked at her, and was about to retort something back, but was interrupted by the calling of his name in the distance. He turned to look at where the voice was coming from, and doing so, he spotted a rapidly approaching Spaniard waving towards him in immense relief of having discovered his whereabouts.
"Ah, sorry lady, that's-" he turned back to speak with her once more, but was speechless to find that no one was standing around him at all.
"Lovino!" Antonio beamed through his out-of-breath panting, "I'm so glad I found you! I was looking everywhere for you..."
"Everywhere? For me?" Lovino was genuinely surprised. He had unconsciously expected Toni to remain rolling around in the snow, waiting for his little Italian to grudgingly stomp back to his home after getting too cold and lonely. He actually went out of his way to search for him...?
"Of course, mi amigo! It freaked me out for you to just run away like that. What do you think I would have done if you never came back?"
"..."
Finally catching his breath, Antonio placed both hands on his hips and looked out at the clear, sterling sky.
"Ahh, the sky looks so beautiful from here. You picked a nice spot to view it, Lovi."
Lovino raised his eyebrows contemptuously at the man's implications that he had purposely run away to this place to view the sky.
Toni's eyes shot down from the sky above him to the ground below him. "Ah, and the sun is shining perfectly on the snow as well! This is the best place, amigo, good job! May I have a seat here?"
He brushed off the snow of the swing set seat beside Lovi and sat down before he could be rejected, which only heightened Lovi's annoyance. The irritated boy let his hazel eyes lower to view the footprint-ridden snow in front of his feet.
"What are you even saying..." he muttered through a drawn-out sigh, "This place isn't the best, it's the worst. It was meant for children to play in it, to laugh and have fun in it, and it can't even accomplish that. Instead, it's drowning in icy snow, alone and devoid of kids. It's worthless here."
He kicked at the dirtied frost below him, rocking slightly in his swing. "This snow that's suffocating it is worthless too. At least it would be nice if kids were playing in it, but it's not being used by anyone. Just walked on, like any other kind of ground covering. It holds no value whatsoever. No value..."
His solemn words were allowed to echo through the crisp air without any response for a while- such a long while, that he looked over to Toni, somewhat nervously. Did he break him...? That would be bad...
Antonio blinked at him for a moment more, staring at him with a blank expression, before moving his body at last. He raised his hands up to either side of his face, and focused on the puzzled Lovino intently. Finally, he spoke:
"Fusosososososososososososososososososososo~!"
That weird noise again... Lovi couldn't help but break into a still-slightly-confused smirk and small laugh. "What the hell are you doing, ya bastard?"
At that signal, the 'bastard' stopped and grinned softly at him. "See, now this place is not worthless."
Lovino's eyes widened, and he stared at Antonio with a mixture of shock and confusion. What...?
Antonio's smile seemed to melt into a somewhat melancholy expression as he left Lovi's gaze to scan the rest of the park attentively.
"This place was made for people to smile in, and enjoy themselves in. So long as we are doing that, this place is not worthless."
His companion gaped at him, though he wasn't able to pinpoint what exactly had surprised him. The Spaniard went on, his jade-like eyes falling to the snow, in the exact same footprint-trodden place Lovino was just viewing.
"This snow...so long as the both of us are here, this snow is not worthless either."
His eyes slowly rose to look across the magnificent expanse ahead of them. Lovino did the same.
"The snow's not meant to be observed alone, after all."
He turned to beam at his dearest friend. Lovino froze, unable to imagine anything worth uttering at this point in time. His eyes slowly met Antonio's, but he wasn't processing what he was looking at anymore. He was simply feeling for Toni's hushed voice. Antonio...?
"That's why I'm here."
...
And the two just let those words settle in the chilled winter air for a while longer, watching the sky and snow, and applying worth to everything their vision touched.
Author's note: Welp, that looked like a good place to end the first chapter. xD The next part will be pretty intense...if I portray it correctly. *u*
Remember to review and all that if you liked it. Really motivates me. xD
Thanks so much for reading!
