Please note that this fic contains: Germany=HRE theory, GerIta / Chibitalia x Holy Rome, Spamano, HunAus, PruCan, Giripan, FrUK, SuFin, and AmeriTai.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

The car ride was taking forever. The stoplights, it seemed, believed that red was our favorite color and therefore kept showing it to us whenever we reached one. I sighed a little bit and said, "Nonno, how much longer?"

My grandfather twisted in the driver's seat and smiled at me. My parents had died when Lovi and I were young; we had never known them. Nonno had taken care of us ever since they had died. He looked surprisingly young to be a grandfather, with curly brown hair and amber eyes identical to mine and my fratello's. "Well, Feli, that depends on whether these nasty lights will be nice to us or not. Why don't you and Lovino play a game while we're waiting?"

"Mm…"

To tell the truth, I wasn't in much of a mood to play any kind of game. Earlier that year, I had met a boy in one of the other fifth-grade classes. He had blond hair and beautiful blue eyes. We had only known each other for two months, but we had grown very close and even shared some pecks on the cheek. I loved him – he was kind, adorable, and shy. But come to think of it, I never learned his name. Whenever I asked it of him, he just mumbled that he didn't really like his name. No one else seemed to know it either, and if I asked a teacher, they would say that if he didn't want to tell anyone, that was up to him.

Just a few days ago, we were sitting on the monkey bars when he said quietly, "Feli, I've got something to tell you…"

I had looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"I… I'm transferring schools in two days…"

I felt as though my heart had stopped. "W…" I whispered. "…what?"

"I'm leaving, Feli," he said sadly, looking at me. "I don't want to leave! I don't want to leave you…"

"You can come live with us!" I cried desperately. "With me and fratello and nonno—"

"Feli, I can't leave my Bruder or my Vater! They're my family! How would you feel if I asked you to leave your nonno or your fratello?"

I looked at the ground, tears forming in my eyes. He was right, of course. But that didn't make it any easier.

"I'm really going to miss you…" I whispered.

"I'm going to miss you too, Feli," he said. I leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. There was some laughter from the kids below us, but neither of us cared. We just sat there holding hands until recess was over.

I snapped out of my thoughts to find Lovi poking me in the shoulder. "Oi, Feliciano," he grumbled, "what's wrong? Don't you want to play a game?"

"Not really, Lovi…"

"I told you not to call me that!" He huffed and turned away to look out the window at the darkening sky. Lovi and I may have been identical twins, but we were hardly anything alike in personality. He was pessimistic and I was optimistic; that was all there was to it.

The light finally changed to green and nonno moved forward, checking his watch. As he pressed on the gas pedal and moved past the light, there was a sudden, loud engine noise coming from ahead of us in the next lane over. A car swerved wildly and suddenly into our path.

The headlights blinded us.

So bright.

Blinding.

Crash.

Lovi and I were thrown against the back of the seat cushions. We both were dazed from it for a few minutes. When we recovered, we found the front of our car crumpled like a soda can, a single flickering headlight in front of it, and nonno – slumped over the side of the steering wheel, unmoving, his head in an odd position, the airbag slowly deflating next to him.

"Nonno!" We cried. I leaned forward and shook his shoulder. "Nonno, wake up! Nonno! Nonno!"

The next half hour was a blur of black-uniformed men, blue-and-white flashing lights, and sitting quietly in a car. Next thing I remember clearly was sitting in front of a policewoman, who had taken off her hat. She looked kindly at us.

"Hello, boys," she said gently. "Can you tell me your names?"

"Feliciano."

"Lovino."

She smiled and wrote something down. "How old are you both?"

"We're twins," said Lovi. "We're both eleven years old."

She wrote this down too. "Well, my name is Officer Howlett. It's nice to meet you both." Officer Howlett leaned forward in a more business-like manner. "Now, can you tell me who was driving the car you two were in?"

I spoke this time. "It was our nonno," I said, "our grandpa."

"Okay. Do you remember where you were going?"

"Um… we were going over to Mr. and Mrs. Edelstein's house for dinner."

"How are you related to them?"

Lovi muttered, "Nonno says they're 'friends of the family'."

Officer Howlett asked us a few more questions before snapping her notepad shut. "Thank you both very much. I'm sure you're wondering about your grandpa. The truth is, he's in the hospital right now. The doctors are taking him to the emergency room, so hopefully he'll be as good as new in no time. We're going to call Mr. and Mrs. Edelstein, so they'll be coming to pick you up and take care of you until you can see grandpa again. Okay?"

"Okay," we said quietly. She smiled encouragingly and brought us to a room filled with books and toys, the kinds designed for children under six. As soon as he left, I started crying.

"F-Feliciano!" exclaimed Lovi. "Don't start crying on me! I'm going to start crying too!" Tears were already forming in his eyes.

"B… but… what if nonno doesn't get better?" I sobbed. "What if he… he…"

Lovi grabbed me in a hug. "Feli, it's okay. Nonno'll get better, got it?"

I nodded, but kept crying into his shoulder.

Mr. and Mrs. Edelstein came to pick us up in ten minutes. Mrs. Edelstein immediately flew upon my fratello and me and grabbed us in a fierce hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you," she cried, "but if only it didn't have to be like this!"

Mrs. Edelstein had long, pale brown hair that she occasionally tied back in a handkerchief when cleaning the house. According to some stories she told us, when she was young she had been convinced that she was a boy, despite what her parents had told her. It was only when she was 14 years old that she recognized her gender and switched from slacks and being shirtless to dresses, skirts, and flowery things. She always insisted that Lovi and I call her 'Eliza', her first name.

Mr. Edelstein pushed his glasses up on his nose. "I do hope your grandfather is well soon. Elizabeth, please step away, you're making a scene."

Eliza reluctantly released Lovi and me (Lovi was relieved). Mr. Edelstein was a famous pianist, always practicing for at least three hours a day and giving concerts in churches. His hair was dark, chestnut brown with a funny strand that stuck up above his forehead and bent backwards to make a slight curl. (This was not so different from mine and fratello's hair curls, though ours were on the sides of our heads – his on the right, mine on the left.) He continually wore formal-type suits, even around the house, and was generally strict and orderly. If asked to do something from him, Eliza would do it, sometimes against her own desires. She loved him very much, despite the fact that he seemed to care more about his piano than her.

"Now," continued Mr. Edelstein, "as soon as everything is cleared up at the front, we will be taking you two back to our house. Until we receive word on your grandfather, you will be staying there. Come along."

Lovi and I followed Mr. Edelstein and Eliza through the door and to an officer, who had a short conversation with him before we went to their car. We quietly sat in the back; no words passed between anyone.

When we reached the house, Mr. Edelstein sent us upstairs. "There are two small guest bedrooms. You may each take one after dressing down and brushing your teeth."

Eliza came up with us to show us where the toothbrushes and pajamas were. When she left and turned off the light, I sneaked out the door and over to where Lovi was.

"Lovi," I whispered, coming up to his bed. "Can I sleep with you?"

He hesitated. "Okay… but just this once."

I crawled in and snuggled up next to him, breathing steadily in the comfort of his warm body and familiar feel. I fell asleep very soon.

Waking up, I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Looking around, I remembered what happened the night before: The crash. Nonno. Mr. Edelstein and Mrs. Edelstein.

Lovi was already gone; he must have gotten up and headed downstairs for breakfast already. I rolled sleepily out of bed and shuffled downstairs as well. The Edelsteins' home was gorgeous and well-furnished. There was a chandelier in the music room, a fantastically designed one made almost entirely of glass. It twinkled at me as I moved past that room and into the kitchen.

Mr. Edelstein, Eliza, and Lovi were already at the table, quietly eating pancakes – made by Eliza, of course. They looked up as I entered and Eliza smiled.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said kindly. Pointing to an empty chair at which a plate of pancakes was in front of, she added, "have a seat and let's get some food into you, okay?"

"Thank you," I said, sliding into the seat. Picking up the syrup bottle and pouring the sticky stuff in a star shape over the flapjacks, I added, "How's nonno doing?"

"Well, honey, we need to get a call from the hospital first. Otherwi—"

The phone rang, startling us all. I dropped my fork with a loud clatter and Mr. Edelstein looked at me.

"Quiet," he ordered. Rising from his place, he moved to the phone and took it off the hook, holding it to his ear.

"Hello, Edelstein residence, Roderich Edelstein speaking," he said as he walked out of the room. I caught a few words from outside: "Yes, they are currently…" "Oh…" "…I'm sorry to…"

After another minute of quiet conversation, he walked slowly into the room, though it seemed very slow. Replacing the phone, he turned to us with an uncharacteristically sad expression.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. Regulus Vargas has…" he paused and took off his glasses to rub his eyes. "Regulus Vargas has passed away."

It took approximately three seconds for this sentence to sink in. When it did, my fratello and I burst out sobbing. I put my head down on the table and cried, not caring so much that I was lying on the syrupy pancakes. At one point, Eliza gently sat me up, wiped off my face, and carried me to bed like an infant. I must have cried myself to sleep sometime, because when I awoke, I was on my side in the bed with dry tear tracks on my face. I shed a few more tears before quietly walking downstairs to the kitchen. The pancakes now lay cold, sticky syrup smeared across the surface. I took a bite, and then set it down, realizing that I didn't feel like eating much of anything right now. Coming to the living room, I found Eliza, Mr. Edelstein, and fratello sitting on chairs in a circle. Lovi's eyes were threatening to release more water, but at the sight of me that water spilled over. I cried a bit more too, and when we had both settled down, Mr. Edelstein cleared his throat.

"First off," he said, "I want to say how sorry I am that Regulus – your grandfather – has passed away. He was a great man, and we should all remember him."

We entertained a brief silence before he continued.

"Now," he said, pushing his glasses up on his nose, "as for what will happen to you two…"

I looked up. I hadn't actually considered this, but now that he brought it up… where would we go? Grandpa was our only surviving family. Our parents had had no siblings, and our grandparents on our mother's side had passed away.

"Your grandfather set it up so that if something were to happen to him, Elizabeth and I would act as godparents. In other words, we will be taking care of you two until you are old enough to live on your own."

I perked up slightly at this. Living with the Edelsteins wouldn't be bad. Of course Mr. Edelstein would be strict, but it would be nice to see Eliza every day. Meanwhile, Lovi didn't look very happy about this. He had never really warmed up to the couple, but now he would have to live with them acting as our parents.

"We will go to your house later today and collect the personal possessions from it. And speaking of possessions, your grandfather Regulus tended to live frugally, he was quite wealthy, and has left you both an inheritance. Elizabeth and I will be keeping that money in the house, per your grandfather's wish to not put it in a bank."

He stopped and I quietly said, "Mr. Edelstein?"

"Now that we are your legal guardians, you will refer to me as 'stepfather' or 'godfather'."

I hesitated. "Um, stepfather? What does 'frugally' mean?"

"It means to live cheaply, to be thrifty, or to generally not spend much money."

"Oh."

It had now been an entire week of living in the Edelsteins' house, and I was slowly settling in. The funeral had been a few days ago; it was strange to see the box holding nonno being lowered into a hole in the ground. I was just starting to drift off when I felt someone shaking my shoulder. I sat up slowly and rubbed an eye.

"F… fratello?" I said sleepily. "What is it? Did you have a bad dream?"

"No," he hissed. "Listen, Feliciano, I'm… I'm going to run away."

At this I sat up suddenly, my eyes wide. "What?"

"Ssh! You'll wake them!"

I didn't understand. "Fratello, why?"

"Because I can't stand it here! Mr. Edelstein – I'm sorry, stepfather – is way too strict and stiff, and Eliza just ignores me all the time. I can live on my own!"

"B… but Lovi…" I said desperately, "you don't have any money!"

He took out several wads of cash from his pocket. "That's no problem. The place that they kept the money was – get this – a shoebox. I found it under their bed. I guess they were going to get something better soon. Anyway, I counted it all and took exactly half of the money, so I now have my inheritance."

I was having trouble comprehending all of this. "Fratello, I love you! I don't want you to leave!"

"But Feliciano, you can come with me if you want to! You can get your money and we can run away together!" He extended a hand. "Will you come with me?"

I hesitated. "N… no, fratello! I want to live here, with Eliza and stepfather! I'm sorry!"

His face fell before becoming angry. "Fine. Be like that. I'm leaving now; I've already packed up my stuff." He turned away, and then looked back, now sad. "Goodbye, Feli."

I leapt out of bed and hugged him. He stumbled, but regained his balance and hugged me back. Then he quietly waved and walked out the door. I watched him go and heard the front door open and close.

Creeping back into bed, I cried myself to sleep.

Getting up the next morning, I reluctantly went down to the kitchen, knowing what was coming. Eliza and stepfather were already there, eating yogurt. I quietly poured myself cereal after greeting them with a tired "Morning."

"Morning, Feli," said Eliza. She was still in a nightgown (as well as stepfather), and her mouse-brown hair was tangled up in itself. "Is Lovi coming down soon, do you know?"

I froze in the middle of pouring milk, snapping myself out of it before the bowl overflowed. "Um, I, um, don't know if he's coming, stepmother. He might still be in bed."

I always called Eliza 'stepmother' in front of stepfather, but it was 'Eliza' when he was out of earshot.

"I'll go wake him," sighed stepfather, rising from his chair and crossing the room to the stairs. Soon we heard him calling down to his wife.

"Elizabeth, do you know where Lovino's gone?"

Eliza wanted to call the police, but stepfather said that they should talk about it first. After they went into the room and closed the door to talk privately, I put my ear up to the door in order to eavesdrop.

"What do you mean, talk about it?" came Eliza's fierce whisper. "We have to call the cops!"

"Listen, Elizabeth," said stepfather sternly, "he seems to have run away on his own. None of the locks were picked, nothing was broken… and on top of that, all of his clothes and belongings are gone. Not only that, but take a look at this." There was a noise of something being moved, and a gasp from Eliza. Clearly he was showing her the money, or lack of it, in the shoebox.

"He ran away of his own free will, so he obviously does not want to be here. That is his choice, and we are not going to force him to come back if he does not want to. He may return if he wishes, but we will not run after him."

"But Roderich—"

"We are NOT going to run after him!"

At this heated exclamation Eliza gave a sigh. "Yes, dear," she said quietly.

I backed away from the door and tiptoed to my room. I was able to hold myself back for about ten seconds to close the door before I threw myself on the bed and cried into my pillow.

Translations:

Nonno = Grandpa

Fratello = Brother

Bruder = Brother

Vater = Father