A/N: Yipee! It's another 2P!Italy fic! Only with a twist, he's human. Everyone is a human, not a country. Names: Luciano Vargas – 2P!Italy; Kaspar Beilschmidt– 2P!Germany. The rest are 1P's and have the normal names.
This one-shot is inspired by the song "Secret" by The Pierces. Creepiest. Song. Ever. But it's awesome! So there will be some song lyrics in there and those shall be italicized. But do not worry dear readers; they're not in there excessively. There is still some STORY!
Thoughts will be 'italicized' with quotations. Lyrics that are sung will have this at the end: ~
Review please!
Disclaimer: Can you keep a secret~? I don't own Hetalia or the lyrics.
October 18th
Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save! Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave. If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said. 'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.
Luciano's voice rang in Kaspar's mind endlessly as he walked back to his home in the dark. Orange leaves crouched underfoot and the brisk fall wind whispered by him, almost warning him a dead man. Which was true, because how could he keep a secret such as this? This secret of Luci's, it was – it was – it was far beyond what Kaspar could ever imagine! And he had foolishly sworn on his life to keep it! His life! And unlike usual "I swear on my life" swears that were empty and usually not kept, it looked like Luciano meant business and would hold Ludwig to it.
But how could he?
The German groaned and clutched his head to stop the dizzy spell that threatened to overwhelm him. "Calm down," he whispered to himself. "The easiest way to keep a secret is to forget about it. Just breathe, and forget."
And that's what Kaspar did.
November 18th
A whole month passed before Kaspar remembered the secret again. It happened when he saw Luciano again while at the market. Just seeing him triggered it and suddenly the German felt fearful of his Italian friend.
"Ciao!" Luciano greeted happily, his violet eyes sharper than usual as he made his way over.
"Hallo, Luciano," Kaspar greeted back warily, clutching his grocery bags tightly.
"You look frightened, Kaspar. What's wrong? You didn't tell, did you?"
"N-no! Of course not, I swore remember?"
The Italian hummed while studying the German. When he found no telltale signs of lying, he nodded and patted Kaspar's cheek. "Good," was all he said before walking away from him.
Visibly shaking, the blonde watched the brunette leave. He didn't know how long he would be able to stand this! It had been difficult to forget it the first time, but the second time would be even harder. "Things are always better the second time around," was a saying Kaspar had heard once. It was true for most things, but this…This wasn't "most things", this was worse.
Much, much worse.
"Bruder!" Someone shouted, causing Kaspar to snap out of his miserable thoughts. A second later an arm was slung around his shoulders.
"Hallo, Gilbert," Kaspar greeted his older brother.
"What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean?"
"What are you doing at the Black Market?" The albino clarified, swinging his free arm to gesture to the said market.
"Wh-What? I-I didn't mean to –" Kaspar stammered, backing up. He honestly didn't realize he had been subconsciously walking around. He had been so lost in thought…
Gilbert just studied his younger brother worriedly. Something was not right with him, he seemed…off. Why else would he go to the forbidden Black Market? That place was for drug users, dark magic users, and all not-right-in-the-head people. Which was definitely not Ludwig at all, unless he was going dark – something Gilbert did not want to think about. "Yeah, it sure looked like it. You seemed spaced, kesesese." He said, his red eyes searching the other's light purple ones.
Kaspar rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Entschuldigung," he apologized while avoiding eye contact.
"Ja you better be! I thought you were going dark for a second!"
The younger winced, thinking of his friend.
"C'mon, we're going home."
The two walked out in silence, both worried but for different reasons. One was worried about a secret that would ruin everything and the other for his brother.
When they finally reached their home, Gilbert opened up the door and went inside followed by Kaspar. The two walked to the kitchen and put the grocery bags on the table. An uncomfortable silence passed between them as they unpacked and finally Kaspar broke it by asking, "Why were you at the Black Market?"
It was a bold move, Gilbert had to hand him that. "I wasn't," he answered. "I just saw you venture down there and followed you. By the way, idioten, what were you thinking about? Luciano?"
The blonde forced back a wince, because that was exactly it. But he didn't answer this time, just kept unpacking things.
The albino sighed. "Alright, Kaspar, was ist los?"
'I can't tell him, I can't tell him. So might as well lie…' Kaspar thought. Looking up, he forced a smile and said, "Nothing."
"Why do you smile like you've been told a secret?" The older brother asked.
"I haven't been told anything!" The younger defended all too quickly.
Red eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Now you're tellin' lies 'cause you have sworn to keep it. But no one keeps a secret, no one keeps a secret."
"Why, when we do our darkest deeds, do we tell?"
"They burn in our brains, become a living hell. 'Cause everybody tells, everybody tells."
Kaspar just started at his brother wide-eyed. 'He knows…he knows something!' The thought rushed through his head and he felt like he might be sick. Stumbling in haste to get away, Kaspar ran upstairs to his room. Slamming the door behind him, he slid down with his back against the white wood and put his head in his hands, breathing heavily. Gilbert's shouts were coming from the other side, but he couldn't hear them. All he could hear was Luciano's voice…
Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save! Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave. If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said. 'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.
December 18th
Another month passed and unlike the first one, Kaspar could not stop thinking about it. It tore him to pieces because now he could no longer converse freely to his brother for fear of letting something slip. It was driving him insane! He wanted to desperately tell someone, but if he did he would die. It didn't help that he was seeing Luciano regularly now; that only increased the panic because he swore that the little Italian knew something was up. Gilbert never minded Luci coming over all the time, he thought the two were dating and kept making silly remarks about the notion. And they would've been dating, had it not been for that October night.
"Say Kaspar," Luciano started one winter morning, shrugging off his coat. "Are you going anywhere on Christmas?"
"C-Christmas?" Kaspar echoed taking his friend's coat and hanging it up.
"Sì."
"Um –"
"-Yes he is. He's going with the Awesome Me to Matthew's house," Gilbert interrupted standing in the doorway.
Kaspar sent him a confused look which did not go unnoticed by Luciano. "Oh?" Luci asked innocently, tilting his head to the side. Kaspar knew that action; it was never a good action.
"Ja, Birdie invited us over."
"Is that so?"
"Mhm. Why do you ask?"
"Oh no reason…I was just going to ask you two if you wanted to come over. But if you've already made plans I guess I'll just be alone this holiday…"
Gilbert narrowed his eyes in worry while Kaspar watched in horror of what his friend was trying to pull. "Alone? What the hell ever happened to your Bruder Lovino?"
Luciano's eyes remained downcast as he shrugged slowly. "He's going to spend it with Antonio." Looking up he asked, "You know Antonio, right?"
"Of course I know Toni! We're best friends!"
The Italian just smiled sadly, but Kaspar knew better. It was a death trap.
Coughing to break the suffocating air, the blonde asked, "Would anyone like some hot chocolate or coffee?"
Gilbert broke his pitying gaze to look at him. Grinning, he raised his hand in the air and waved it wildly. "The Awesome Me requests some beer!"
"That's not on the menu, Gilbert."
"That is incredibly unawesome, Bruder."
"It is what it is."
Gilbert huffed and stormed upstairs, probably going to go call Matthew. However he did not know that Kaspar had just saved him from a certain death.
When the door slammed shut, Luciano immediately rounded on Kaspar, his violet eyes blazing. The other just backed up in fright. "I'm sor –" he was about to apologize.
He was cut off when a knife lodged itself in the wall next to him. Quickly grabbing it for self-defense, and because he knew it pleased Luciano, he watched as his friend brandished another knife. A second later, said knife was pressed up against Kaspar's throat while the other knife was pressed up against Luciano's. Fiery violet eyes met fearful light purple ones, and Luci grinned before removing his knife in favor of tracing Kaspar's many scars. Kaspar, though, did not remove his. He knew this game, he knew how to play it, and he knew how to play it well.
"You know," the Italian mused, his eyes never leaving the German's, "if you didn't please me so much, you'd be dead."
Kaspar didn't move, but continued to look at the large violet orbs.
The knife continued to whisper across his cheek, cold and cruel as Luciano continued, "Tell me, have you told anyone?"
Kaspar gulped involuntarily. 'Mistake…' he thought as he felt the knife pierce his skin. Looking away, he replied as blood dribbled down his face, "Nein."
"Is that so, dear Kaspar?"
"Ja."
The knife ghosted across his face before stopping at his chin. It nicked it teasingly, giving a signal to Kaspar to look at Luciano again. "Look into my eyes, now you're getting sleepy~," Luciano sang spine-chillingly. "Are you hypnotized by secrets that you're keeping~? I know what you're keeping ~."
Kaspar had no other choice than to play along. "I know what you're keeping~."
Smiling wickedly, Luciano pressed on in their creepy song. "Got a secret, can you keep it~? Swear this one you'll save~! Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave~. If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said~. 'Cause two can keep a secret -"
"If one of them is dead~," Kaspar finished.
Giggling, the Italian removed his knife and pressed a chaste kiss onto the German's lips like nothing happened. This was the signal that the game was over for now, the signal the blonde never failed to receive.
Luciano pulled away smiling and tugged on Kaspar's sleeve before pointing to the stairs. "I'm bored, Kaspar," he said. "Why don't we go upstairs to play a game?"
'So he's in that mood,' Kaspar realized. He had played this game with Luci also, and to say he didn't like it was a lie. It wasn't a dangerous game, just a game of pleasure that passed the time easily. And with the Italian, it was never boring. Smirking, he teased, "What kind of game, Luci?"
"Why you should know this game. We play it at least every month, and I love playing it with you."
Kaspar moved away from the wall so that Luci was against it now, his mood entirely changed. Grabbing Luciano's wrists, he pinned them against the wall and asked, "Is that so?"
Luciano looked up innocently/playfully to meet Kaspar's eyes because he had dropped them when his wrists had been grabbed. "What do you think?" He asked huskily.
"I think you're lying."
"Me? Lie?!"
"What do you think?"
"I think you are asking for it."
Kaspar raised an eyebrow at the accusation. "And if I am?"
Luciano smirked. "Then who am I to say no? So shall we play?"
The German gave his answer by dragging the Italian upstairs to his bedroom. He closed the door before releasing Luciano's wrists so the game would be fair. Immediately, a knife lodged itself into the door next to his ear while Luciano just smiled from the bed.
And suddenly Kaspar's mood did a 180 as he remembered the first time he had seen that look.
-FLASHBACK-
"Kaspar?" The Italian asked.
"…Yes Luciano?" The German acknowledged while nipping the other's neck.
"I have something…I want to tell you…but… you have to promise that you won't tell anyone…"
"I promise."
"Do you swear on your life?"
Kaspar stopped what he was doing to look at Luci before promising, "I swear on my life."
Luciano looked up at Kaspar from where he lay under him with a funny look on his face. Finally he said, "I'll hold you to it, Kaspar. Well here it is…"
-END OF FLASHBACK-
"Kaspar?" Luciano's voice dragged Kaspar out from the memory.
The German blinked a few times to focus his vision before shakily replying, "Y-yes?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"Thinking about…?"
Luciano's violet eyes narrowed as he hopped off the bed and something in Kaspar's mind screamed DANGER! DANGER! "Yes," the brunette verified icily. "What are you thinking about?"
"N-nothing…" the blonde denied.
Luciano stood in front of Kaspar for a long moment before dislodging the knife in the door. He then placed it right in front of the German's heart and hissed, "You swore you'd never tell. You swore you'd never tell."
"I-I didn't!"
"You swore you'd never tell. You swore you'd never tell!"
Aware that what he was about to do was very risky and may cost him his life, Kaspar leaned in and kissed Luciano on the lips. He hoped that it may distract the Italian long enough to make him forget about what had just happened. It worked because a second later, Luci was kissing him back albeit a little more forcefully.
Taking his chance, Kaspar caught Luciano's wrist and took away the knife. Still lip-locked, he forced the other to back up and the two continued their game. But Kaspar's mind was somewhere else now.
Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save! Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave. If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I've said. 'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead…
January 18th
Kaspar was at his breaking point. He really was because today he witnessed his friend in action.
It had happened in a dark alleyway that he took regularly as a shortcut to his home. Upon turning a corner, he had heard muffled shrieks and decided to investigate. What he saw made him stop in his tracks from horror completely.
Kaspar knew his friend's secret. He knew it wasn't right, but what could he do? Telling someone was out of the option, he would die. Telling his friend to stop was out of the option, he would die that way too. So the only way he would survive was to keep his mouth shut and please the Italian.
But Kaspar didn't realize the extent of how his friend did what he did.
Got a secret, can you keep it?
The words ran mockingly through his mind as he saw the scene. Luci's back was to him, but he had a clear view of the victim.
Swear this one you'll save!
He recognized the person was Alfred, the loud American that lived a few blocks away. But what could Luci have against him?
Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave.
There was blood everywhere. On the walls, on the ground, on Luciano and on Alfred, it was a mess!
If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said.
Another scream pierced from Alfred as Luciano stabbed him again. Kaspar guessed that he either gave up struggling, or was too drained to.
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.
Alfred caught Kaspar's horrified eyes and screamed, "HELP ME!"
Luciano shut him up by taking his tongue and cutting it off. Before he could turn around, Kaspar ran away from the alleyway. Screams assaulted his ears and tears stung his eyes. 'How can I keep this now? How? Mein Gott, Luci brutally murdered a man just now!' he thought wildly. 'I need to tell Gilbert or someone!'
And suddenly Luciano's voice rang through his mind again.
Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save! Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave. If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said. 'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.
"No! Nein! Geh weg! GEH WEG!" Kaspar yelled, covering his ears with his hands.
Bursting through his front door, he ran upstairs to his room and slammed the door before locking it. "I can't, I can't, I can't." He sobbed, laying his head against the door.
"Bruder? Bruder! Öffnen Sie die Tür!" Gilbert shouted, banging against the other side with his fists.
"I can't, I can't, I can't."
"Can't what? What happened?"
'I should tell him…no I can't. Luci will kill me and probably Gilbert too.'
"KASPAR!"
"Here, let me try," Came a familiar voice that sent shivers down Kaspar's spine. "Kaspar open up the door."
Numbly, Kaspar did what he was told. The doorknob turned and Luciano slipped through the small crack he had made before locking the door again.
"HEY!" Gilbert shouted from the other side.
Kaspar looked at Luciano fearfully. Somehow the Italian had managed to change his clothes and cleaned up so that it looked like the alleyway incident never happened. But by judging the menacing look in his violet eyes, Kaspar knew it had. He also knew that Luci knew he had seen him.
"Got a secret, can you keep it~? Swear this one you'll save~!" Luciano sang in a whisper, brandishing a blood-stained knife in the air and walking towards him. "Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave~."
Kaspar watched in horror as his friend kneeled so that they were at eye level with each other. Then he felt the knife be pressed up against his heart. No kissing will help him now.
"If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said~," Luciano continued quietly. "Yes, two can keep a secret if one of us is dead."
And the last thing Kaspar felt was the knife being thrust into his heart in a fire of agony.
