Still In Love
I do not own Hetalia or parts of The Parent Trap that I used
Chapter One: The Twin's Plan
Noella was absolutely seething with fury. She ground her teeth as she trudged up a muddy path with her luggage. She gave her companion a side way glance and saw a dignified girl who looked exactly like her except for her longer hair and 'god-awful' fashion sense. She was none other than Elisa Vargas. Together, they got into trouble for fighting and finally got detained after a prank gone wrong.
Currently, the camp organisers were sending them to the isolated cabin where they hoped to force Noella and Elisa to be friends. Noella twitched as she crinkled her nose, no way was she ever going to be friends with that stick in the mud and she tried to think of curses to send Elisa's way through telepathic means. She was however, forced out of her thoughts when they suddenly came to a halt. There was a cabin on the end of the path with a sign outside that said 'ISOLATION CABIN' in huge block letters. She looked back to Mr. Jones with one last pleading look.
"Sorry Noella, you two need to learn how to become friends! Okay, run along now." The charismatic young man urged the two girls closer to the cabin and then blew a whistle.
"Alright, the rest you girls, it's time for a swim in the lake!" There was a collection of high pitched giggles as one after one, young girls around their age passed them by in their swim wear. Elisa looked at Noella with a mutual dissatisfied look and they continued on to their cabin.
They entered the wooden structure hesitantly and each chose a bed without talking to each other. It smelt a little musty but after checking, Elisa found no such moss that would have gave her a perfect reason to fly back home that instant. Noella toured the cabin while holding a stuffed toy that seemed to be falling apart. Then, after realising that the two beds and a small eating area was the whole cabin, she sat down on the bed with a large 'thump'. With nothing to do, she proceeded to grind her teeth again.
"Stop doing that!" Elisa demanded, shooting her enemy a dark look. Noella returned it and ground her teeth even louder, making Elisa huff and look away. Eventually, Noella stopped as it started to hurt and instead came to terms with the fact that the cabin was to be her home for the next week and started unloading her luggage. She took out page after page of famous singers and actors and started pasting them on the wall where her bed was put up against. Elisa looked at her with curious eyes and always looked away when Noella caught her staring.
After Noella finished, she sat back on her bed to admire her work, until a violent wind came in through her window. She cursed under her breath as the pages of her beloved celebrities flew across the room and hastened to close the window. She didn't expect Elisa to rush over and help her close it. They closed the window together and fell on the bed with a small sigh.
"Guess the others can't swim anymore," Noella said thoughtfully looking out the window at the impending storm. Enjoying this fact, Elisa smiled.
"Yea, not too bad for us now." the two shared a laugh then Noella looked down upset at her semi destroyed magazine cutouts. She bent to pick them up and smiled thankfully when Elisa helped her. Before handing her the last piece, Elisa looked thoughtfully at the picture.
"Who's this?" she asked, looking at a picture of a man dressed in black and gold. He was holding a scarlet cloth on his side and there was a blur making its way towards him. He had his back towards the camera.
"Oh, that's my Papa!" Noella said grinning. "He used to be a matador, you know a bullfighter. It's a big part of our culture, I'm from Spain by the way!"
"That's really cool." Elisa said truthfully and handed her the picture. She watched as her roommate put up her pictures again and examined her carefully. She had the exact same brown eyes and button nose. Although their hair was of different length, the light brown locks were wavy just the same. Their appearance was identical to the last freckle.
"Uhm, Noella, what's your father like?" Elisa asked. Noella seemed surprised but she answered happily.
"He's awesome! He's really nice and he's more like a best friend!"
"What do you usually do together?" Elisa continued to interrogate.
"Well, we ride together, play games and dance. He's a good dancer." She said almost dreamily.
"Do you fight at all?"
"You know, not that I mind but why are you so curious about my papa?" Noella asked as she pasted another celebrity on her wall. Elisa looked embarrassed.
"It's just, well. I only have my Dad…I was wondering how different it is for other families."
"Oh." Noella said awkwardly. "Well, not sure about what kind of differences you're looking for but I only have my Papa too. Apparently he was married to another man and together they adopted me but they got divorced when I was really young. I don't remember my other Dad but sometimes I hear his voice in my head, I think he used to sing to me." Noella shared these memories fondly, smiling softly while her head rested between her knees.
"Your father was married to another man?" Elisa asked. Neolla nodded. "My Dad was married another man too…" she mumbled, so quietly that Noella almost didn't hear it.
"You're adopted too?" Noella asked, gulping. "Do…do you have a picture of your other father?" Noella asked, her mouth dry now. Elisa nodded but she frowned.
"The only picture I have of him is ripped down the middle which is very annoying-" Elisa was cut off by a rather intimidating Noella that grabbed her shoulders suddenly.
"You have a picture that's ripped down the middle?" She asked quickly and without waiting for an answer she continued speaking.
"I have a picture of my Dad that's ripped down the middle."
Elisa's mouth fell open stupidly. "Right down the middle?"
"Right down the middle." Noella repeated. Elisa quickly walked over to her side of the bed and took out a long narrow tin box and took out a piece of paper. Noella also did the same, except her picture was in-between her clothing and was slightly more crumpled than Elisa's.
"Okay, on the count of three, 1, 2, 3!" The two girls flipped their pictures and saw that the background fit perfectly together. A couple stood in front of a beautiful beach landscape with seagulls flying behind them. The taller man was wearing a loose white shirt that fluttered in the wind. His chocolate brown locks framed his grinning face as his eyes were crinkled shut in a grin. The shorter of the two had lighter brown hair that fell softly around his face while his smooth olive skin glowed in the setting sun. His face too was crinkled in a grin, and his nose a little red from crying before the shot was taken.
"That's my Papa!" Noella said excitedly.
"That's my Dad!" Elisa exclaimed, a little more breathlessly, marveling at how the pictures fit together like a puzzle piece.
"Woah, this is huge!" Noella gasped, still holding up her picture.
"I can't believe we're sisters! This is awesome!" Noella said once again. She got up and rushed over to Elisa's bed.
"What are you doing?" Elisa asked.
"Let's put the beds together!" Elisa smiled then helped her newly found sister to move the beds. It was hard work for the two girls of fourteen but they managed to bring them together and make one large bed. The girls shared every little detail, mostly about themselves and of their parents.
"Hey…do you ever get curious about our birth parents?" Elisa asked out of the blue, staring into the dark ceiling. Noella didn't answer for a while.
"Actually I overheard a conversation between Papa and our nanny…Apparently our birth mother abandoned us as babies right after we were born. She was actually a distant relative of Dad's. Twins run in the family so."
Elisa frowned sadly, but she willed away her tears.
"I don't care about our mother! I just miss our fathers, they're the ones who actually love us."
"I know! But, I can't believe they got divorced…"
Just then, Noella felt a light bulb 'bing!' on top of her head. She sat up suddenly from her bed, startling her sister.
"What's wrong?" Elisa asked, sitting up too.
"I have just thought of the most genius plan."
"What plan?"
"So genius I should get a Nobel prize."
"What is it?" Elisa asked again, a little annoyed this time.
"So genius they should rename the prize to Nobella prize."
"Oh for the love of- What is this so genius plan of yours?" Elisa cried, crossing her arms.
"You and I should switch places!" Noella said, throwing her arms up dramatically.
"What?"
"You want to know what Papa is like right? And I've been wanting to meet Dad for the longest time. We can teach each other to act like the other then we can meet them!"
"But we'll get discovered! It's too risky!"
"Ohhh come on! For all my life I've always wanted to meet Dad again, pleaaase."
Elisa looked at her incredulously then her eyes glittered.
"Then, maybe we can get them to realise that they're meant for each other, then they'll get back together and we can be one big family." It was now Noella's turn to look at Elisa with an open mouthed face.
"Elisa, you are a genius. I should give my Nobella prize to you." she said with a straight face. The two sisters laughed again and laid back down on their beds.
"First thing in the morning, let's commence operation." Noella said with a grin. Elisa grinned back and with that, they fell asleep peacefully, an identical smile on both their faces.
Morning came as quickly as they hoped it would and they walked to breakfast arm in arm. Mr. Jones was pleased to see that the two girls had become friends and was surprised when they asked him if they could continue staying there. They ate breakfast quickly and waved to their friends before moving to the lake to begin what they called the 'Nobella Prize Plan'. They began by introducing the people closest to them.
"Dad's name is Lovino Vargas and he's also a twin, I call him Feli, but his full name is Feliciano. He's really sweet and caring and often buys me lots of toys and food. Together they own a restaurant called the Buono Tomato. Feli deals with our branch in Germany where he lives there with his partner Ludwig. Dad doesn't like him much, they're always fighting when they come to visit." Noella nodded, looking deadly serious as she held her pen and notepad in her hands.
"There's also grandpa who helped them with the restaurant until he retired five years ago. Grandpa's so cool and doesn't look like a grandpa at all. We just call him Grandpa Rome, even Dad and Feli."
"Then there's Adrian, he's our butler."
"We have a butler?" Noella asked, a smile tugging on her lips. Elisa smiled.
"Yup, he's real nice and we're super close. We have a little handshake that we do when we see each other and part."
Elisa taught Noella the handshake with great difficulty but she learnt it somehow and they continued the rest of the holiday the same way. They went over family members, interior of the houses, behaviors and pet peeves.
"Papa owns lots of farms, mainly growing organic vegetables. He also has a vineyard that's really close to our house which was the first business he started." Noella explained, drawing a little map.
"At our house, we have Papa, Katyusha our nanny and Casper our dog." She drew each respective person in a gag style cartoon which the girls laughed over for ages before continuing.
"Katyusha's been with us for real long so she's like part of the family, same goes for Casper."
"I can't wait to meet them," Elisa said, smiling at the crude drawings. However, on one sunny afternoon, came Elisa's worst nightmare.
"You have to cut it!" Noella said defiantly. "I can't go to camp with short hair then come back with long, come on. Stop being such a baby." She said while inching closer, snapping her scissors.
"Easy for you to say! You don't have to change anything about your appearance!" Elisa cried, holding her hair close to her face and neck.
"I have to remove my nail polish?" Noella tried but it just added fuel to the fire.
"That just means I have to paint mine!" Elisa said, devastated. Noella pouted.
"I don't always have nail polish, you don't have to paint them."
She sat on her chair a few minutes later and grumbled with a teary face.
"You sure you won't mess up?" she asked once more, making Noella scoff. She snipped off her sister's hair a little too quickly for Elisa's liking but afterwards, they two had never looked more similar. That night the two spent a little more time awake than usual as it was the last day before they had to go back.
"We're going to make them realise how much they need and love each other." Noella said, yawning.
"Then we'll live together." Elisa finished for her, yawing too. They grinned at each other and pinky swore before falling sleep. They wore each other's clothes the next day and hugged each other tightly before they departed for their respective planes.
"Even if we fail, they still have to meet one last time to switch us back," Elisa whispered.
"Yep, then when they see each other, they'll fall right back in love." they giggled and parted, wishing each other good luck. And on their planes they went, Elisa was off to Spain while Noella was off to Italy. They arrived around the same time and found who was waiting for them at the airport.
Elisa looked around excitedly as she waited for her father, whose name she recalled Noella mention was Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. They both agreed it was the coolest Spanish name ever. She stood waiting for a few minutes and then she saw him; a handsome man with chocolate brown locks and an angular face. His emerald eyes were scanning passengers before they lit up when they fell upon Elisa. Elisa felt a warm tingly feeling bubbling up in her stomach as she ran towards him. She threw her arms around him and took in a relaxing smell of tomatoes and grapes. He hugged her tightly and she felt tears threatening to fall.
"Mi princesa!" he called her. He tried to pull away but Elisa hung on and didn't move.
"What's wrong Noel?" he asked gently. Even his voice was soothing Elisa thought as she finally pulled away.
"Nothing, just...I missed you so much." she said with a large grin, diving in for another hug. Her father chuckled and let her hug him.
"Alright come on, let's get back home." Elisa grinned again and held Antonio's hand all the way to the car.
"How was the camp princesa?"
"It was awesome!" Elisa replied, trying to use 'Noella' terminology.
"What did you like best there?"
Elisa then proceeded to recite everything they did then chose her favourite, every time she spoke, she could help calling him Papa over and over again.
"Noel, why do you keep calling me Papa?" Antonio asked later, chuckling. Elisa flushed slightly then replied a bit too hastily.
"Because for a whole two weeks," More like thirteen years Elisa thought in her head, "I didn't say Papa at all and I just really missed calling you that."
Antonio ruffled Elisa's hair lovingly and she continued telling him about her camp adventure, careful not to include Noella in the story as much. Antonio happily listened to his daughter. Eventually they reached their house and Elisa looked around excitedly. It was just as big as she imagined and the architecture was so different from her home. The car drove through the open metal gate and when it pulled up in front of the house, Elisa unbuckled her seat belt but before she could open the door to leave, Antonio stopped her with a gentle palm on her hand.
"Later today, I have a surprise for you." he said gently, smiling nervously. Elisa grinned. "Great! I love surprises!" she said and the two of them left the car together. Elisa was smiling so broadly that her jaws hurt. They walked through the grand double door entrance and a woman with large breasts and white blonde hair came rushing towards them. She had tears in her eyes and engulfed Elisa in a hug. During that time, Antonio had received a phone call and he moved away to talk in private.
"Oh Noel! So glad you're back." she said warmly and pinched Elisa's cheeks. Elisa grinned a cheeky smile. She was definitely Katyusha, their nanny.
"You must be starving." she said, wrapping an arm on her shoulders. "Let me make you something to eat."
"Oh uhm, I'm not that hungry." Elisa said quickly, "I ate on the plane." Katyusha looked shocked.
"But dear, you're always hungry! You say how plane food never fills you up." Elisa fumbled over her words.
"I'm just not hungry right now. Can't wait to eat your cooking again for dinner though!" Katyusha smiled and rubbed her cheeks affectionately.
"Sorry mi amor, I have to go to one of the other farms, there's some trouble over there that I have to sort out." Elisa looked around with a small 'what' face.
"But I just got back!" she said pouting. Antonio pouted back.
"I know Noel, I'll be back for dinner I promise."
"What about my Papa time? And my surprise?" Antonio chuckled.
"About your surprise, I'll bring it home with me." he said, patting her on the head. "Why don't you unpack and play with Casper." As if on cue, a great large St. Bernard came pounding in the room and barked loudly. He ran towards Elisa who opened her arms but then he stopped abruptly. Elisa gulped. He sniffed around her then looked around confused.
"Casper, it's Noel!" Antonio said, surprised at his pet's indifference. Casper whined and walked away.
"I wonder why he's being like that." Antonio mumbled to himself, then knelt down to be eye level with Elisa.
"Noella, I'll be back in a few okay?" he kissed her on the forehead and left after dialing a number. Elisa watched her father go and frowned, she hadn't even spent more than two hours with him yet. As she walked inside her home dejectedly, she wondered how Noella was doing.
Noella let her mouth gape open stupidly as she looked around. The Italian airport was amazing and she quickly started to scan her surroundings. She was trying to find Adrian, who would be picking her up. She gasped loudly and started giggling as a pair of hands tickled her behind.
"Hello Elisa!" Adrian greeted, grinning from ear to ear. He reminded Noella of the Cheshire cat. She turned and he was standing in 'the position'. Noella did the handshake perfectly and Adrian scooped her up in a hug afterwards.
"Oh I missed you." he said. Noella grinned and hugged him back. "And you cut your hair!"
"Yea, do you like it?" she asked.
Adrian smiled. "I love it."
They left shortly after baggage claim and soon they were on their merry way to their house. Noella's heart pounded as they arrived closer and closer to their home. When the car stopped, she nearly jumped.
"Where's Dad?" she asked and Adrian smiled. "He's inside waiting for you, I reckon he's just got back."
She walked inside timidly and saw a sign pasted over the living room doorway.
'WELCOME BACK ELISA' it read and Noella felt a warmth spread through her chest as she tried to picture 'ELISA' as her own name.
"Elisa?" a voice called. Noella really did jump this time and turned slowly. She came face to face to a beautiful figure in a suit attire. He had short light brown hair and warm auburn eyes that were neither completely green nor hazel. He smiled as he opened his arms.
"Welcome home."
Noella couldn't help but cry as she walked slowly over to her dad. She continued crying as she hugged him tightly, rubbing her tears on the front of his shirt. Lovina chuckled and hugged her tightly. Noella was so happy she could barely believe she was in his arms. A familiar warmth that she always felt was missing from her life engulfed her. Adrian watched bemused and somewhere along the way, Noella's grandfather had come in the room.
"Is that my Eli?" he said as he hugged her. She felt that her bones could break as her grandfather rubbed his cheeks against hers.
"Stop that you'll crush her." Lovino snapped, pulling Elisa away from his own father. She saw her grandfather pout.
"How was camp bambino? I love your hair." he asked caressing her cheeks. Noella sniffed. He was exactly the angel she pictured her to be and in some cases remembered.
"It was great!" She replied with a big smile. Lovino smiled back.
"I need to get back to work in a bit, want to come with me? You can help me cook." Lovino said softly. He was the head chef in the Italian branch and Elisa would often help him out at the kitchens and was an excellent cook. Noella on the other hand could not make a fried egg without setting something on fire.
"Oh uhmm," Noella said nervously. "I want to come with you but I cut myself during camp, so I can't help cook." she said, showing a fake bandaged finger.
"What?! Don't be so careless like that!" Lovino said loudly. "Is it a big cut? Let me see, take off your plaster."
"No!" Noella said albeit too loudly. "It's fine Dad, really."
Lovino still looked concerned but saw that it would get him nowhere.
"We need to pick up Feliciano after work." he said to her. "You miss him don't you?" Noella brightened, as she held Lovino's hand.
"Yay!" she cheered and enjoyed the sound of her father's laughter once more. They left together hand in hand and headed towards the Buono Tomato. Noella watched in amazement as vegetable after vegetable got minced and julienned and diced. Lovino's hands were working so fast it was like watching an action movie. My dad is the coolest, she thought as her eyes never left her father.
"You're watching me more than usual." Lovino said smiling, as he tipped the carrots into his soup.
"That's because I'm not cooking." she said with a grin. Noella was quite satisfied spending the rest of the day just looking at her father doing his job. He barked at people and shouted various things in Italian. Lovino and Elisa spoke English with each other because they lived in England for seven years before coming to live in Rome. Noella hoped that they would continue speaking English for she only understood a few words in Italian as they were similar in Spanish.
"Alright squirt," Lovino said after a few hours, "time for dinner, what would you like?" Noella thought long and hard for what she wanted that her face went a little pink.
"You don't have to be that serious about it." Lovino said, chuckling.
"I want eggplant parm!" she said happily, Lovino raised an eyebrow.
"Since when did you like eggplant?" Noella opened her mouth stupidly. She wanted to slap herself; Elisa didn't like eggplant.
"Oh I had some during the camp, turned my whole opinion about eggplants, HAHAHA." she laughed a bit too loudly but felt a weight lift off her chest when Lovino ruffled her hair.
"Then, let me cook up the most amazing dish you will ever taste."
It was the most amazing dish she had ever tasted.
She closed her eyes with every bite to savour the delicate and beautiful taste. She felt that she could float away but she'd rather stay and have more of the parm. After they left the restaurant, it was nearly ten pm. They walked down a relatively empty street and was looking for a taxi to the airport.
"Dad, can you tell me about Papa?" Noella asked hopefully. Lovino gave her an accusing look.
"That again?" he asked in an undertone.
"Because, I want to know what he's like. Don't you miss him?"
Lovino sighed and Noella saw sadness flicker in his eyes.
"Well, he's one handsome idiot," Lovino said with an unconvincing frown. Noella wriggled her eyebrows.
"I know." she said. Lovino looked at her weirdly. "You know do you?" he asked, smiling.
"He and I would have never worked out bambino, that's why we're not together anymore." he then waved a hand and a taxi stopped for them. They entered, still holding hands.
"Airport please." Lovino said in Italian.
"I'm just lucky to have a beautiful daughter like you with me." Lovino said to her and Noella grinned. She slept on her father's shoulders with a reassuring thought that Lovino never said he didn't miss Antonio. Unaware of her sister's impending demise.
Elisa pouted as she stared into the brown eyes of Casper, who was a meter away from her. She had spent the entire day trying to get him to like her and now she was laying on her stomach on the floor. Every time Katyusha was out of sight she would whisper her true identity to him.
"Casper, it's me Elisa. I'm Noella's twin." she would say, but Casper would look at her with the same sad eyes and avoided her. Antonio had been gone for nearly three hours and it was past the time for dinner.
"You're being awfully patient today Noel," Katyusha said to her smiling. "Usually you would complain about how late your father is and eat first."
"Well, it is my first night being back. I wanna eat with him." she said grinning. Katyusha smiled and ruffled her hair. Elisa suddenly heard sounds of a car arriving, making her gasp and rush to the front doors. She wrenched one open in time to see Antonio helping someone come out of the car. Her smile faltered slightly.
A woman with golden blonde hair emerged from the front seat and Elisa could see that she was wearing blood red lipstick. A tight purple dress fitted around her torso and a little bit of her bottom but all in all, it seemed like she was wearing a shirt instead of a dress. Her legs were long and toned and held upright by black heels. Elisa's jaw almost dropped to the ground. As they got closer she saw more of this woman she really did not want in her house. Blue eyes, glittery eye shadow, pointed nose, and rosy cheeks. Elisa swore she was the devil in human form.
"You must be Noella." she said with a thick French accent. "Tonio has told me so much about you." Elisa thought she was pursing her chest out even further.
"Noel, this is Marianne," Antonio introduced with a smile. Elisa tried to sustain her smile.
"Marianne," she said stretching her name, "it's nice to meet you." she said in a falsetto voice. They went inside the house and Antonio seated her in a chair at the table. Then he said something to her. Elisa had not moved from her spot, glaring at the sudden intruder.
"Noel, can I speak to you for a bit?" Antonio ushered her into the living room and closed the door behind them.
"Soo, where's my surprise?" Elisa asked, but she did not want to know the answer.
"Well, honey she is. I've...I'm...well Marianne is going to be part of our family." Elisa narrowed her eyes.
"I've always wanted a big sister." she said, smiling her fake smile. Antonio chuckled nervously, not able to look at his daughter.
"Honey, Marianne is going to be your new mother, I'm going to ask her to marry me."
It was as if something hit Elisa on the side of her head. This was the worst surprise ever.
A/N: Based on Disney's 1998 Parent Trap adaptation of the novel. I'm usually not a fan of OCs but I didn't see how any other characters would fit as the twins, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.