Author's Note: Writing a multi-chaptered fic after a long, long while!
Disclaimer: Hetalia © Himaruya Hidekaz
Title: "What Lies Ahead"
Characters/Pairing Involved: Gilbert Beilschmidt (Prussia) / Lovino Vargas (Romano/ South Italy)
Chapter 1: And it all began that summer
No matter what he did, he just couldn't seem to fit in with everyone else. It wasn't like Lovino wanted to fit in, and to be perfectly honest, he wasn't even trying to. But hey, it wouldn't be bad to have some company every now and then. Unfortunately for this grumpy Italian, interacting with people wasn't really his forte. With his brother gone for the summer holidays, Lovino was forced to spend his summer on his own at the dormitories. Feliciano was telling him to go back to Italy with him and spend the holiday with their family but he had refused. Even if he did go home, it wouldn't really make a difference and everyone would still care about Feliciano only. Better be alone than feel like some worthless piece of crap with everyone around. There were only a few students left at the school, most of them only stayed because of club duties and supplementary lessons. Thankfully, even if his grades weren't really that good, he manages to get by every semester and never had to attend supplementary lessons to catch up.
Walking around the academy, Lovino decided that he'll just try to enjoy the summer holidays even if he's alone. It wasn't something new to him anyway. It's not like he's had friends before, nor did he have a lot. Sure, there was Antonio; but the Spaniard's busy during the holidays back in Spain, helping his family out at the tomato fields. His cousin, Sebastian, would probably be back in Italy as well, hitting on girls like usual, living the life. Lovino shrugged, getting all sulky about this won't do him any good. Just to vent out his frustration, he kicked a random rock lying on the ground and let it fly off to wherever. He was about to continue with his stroll when he heard someone yelp in pain. The Italian flinched, his eyes immediately looking for whoever made that noise. Shit, did he just hit someone? "Hey, what's the big deal?!" The brunette almost let out a shriek when someone had come up behind him, looking really angry. There was an obvious bruise on the man's forehead and on his hand was—the Italian had no doubts about it—the rock that Lovino just kicked.
The student in front of him was someone he wasn't familiar with, probably not from his year. He just couldn't shake the feeling that he has indeed seen this person somewhere before. "W-What the hell?" was the first thing that came out of the Italian's lips. Oops. Obviously, his response didn't please the other student. "What do you mean, 'what the hell?'!? You kicked a rock right at me!" Yup, he was definitely not pleased. Not letting the albino intimidate him, Lovino crossed his arms over his chest and scoffed. "How can you be so sure I was the one who kicked it, huh? Stupid bastard." Who knows, maybe the rock just happen to look exactly like the one he kicked, but it was a completely different rock that someone else might have kicked or thrown. But it looks like lady luck wasn't on his side today. Grumbling, the other student rubbed the aching spot on his forehead and said, "You and I are the only ones in this area, moron." True enough, when Lovino looked around them, no one else was around. Talk about bad timing. "Damn it." The Italian cursed under his breath, unable to think of an excuse.
Looking at the brunette's stubborn expression, the other could only just sigh. He wasn't going to waste his afternoon arguing with someone as hard-headed as this guy. Besides, he did see it was unintentional; he'll just let him off the hook this once. "Ahh, whatever. I don't expect you to apologize anyway—you honestly don't look like the type to do so, so don't sweat it." The other male threw the rock away and placed his hands back in his pockets. Looking down at the shorter student, he tried to recall where he had seen him before. "Aren't you… that kid Tonio always hangs around with?" Lovino blinked a few times. "Huh?" This bastard knew Antonio? But then again, Antonio was practically friends with everyone except that British student, so it wasn't that surprising. Glaring at the albino, Lovino retorted. "What is it to you then, you annoying bastard?" The other didn't seem to be taken aback by his response. Instead, Lovino received laughter and a hand petting his head. What the actual fuck? "You're an interesting—though honestly annoying, fellow! You must be Lovino. Tonio always talks about you!" For some reason, the brunette didn't feel too happy about it. Why would Antonio talk about him with this loud and annoying bastard, anyway? Swatting the hand off his head, Lovino snapped at the albino. "Don't act so familiar with me, asshole. I don't even know you!"
A grin crept across the taller male's face as he placed his hands over his hips. "You don't know the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt? Man, it sucks to be you!" Great, not only was he loud, he was also obnoxious. Lovino rolled his eyes. "I'd rather think that I'm lucky not to know you, jerk." Why did he always end up with the annoying and weird ones? Gilbert kept the smug look on his face and placed a hand over the Italian's shoulders. "So? What are you doing here at school on your own during the summer holidays?" He sure was one to talk. Gilbert chose to stay behind instead of going back home just so he could do whatever he feels like doing. If he went back to Germany with his brother, his parents will just be a pain—telling him to do this, telling him not to do that. Being alone was awesome! Squirming away from Gilbert's arm, Lovino just gave him a look of annoyance. "I said don't act too familiar with me, damn it! And why I'm here during this season is none of your fucking business." Gilbert chuckled. Lovino sure had a way with his words.
"You practically owe me for that rock, just so you know." The albino chided, as he sat comfortably on the grass. Being alone was awesome, but getting to know others would be awesome too. Besides, no one in the school seemed interesting enough. Gilbert will have to admit though, Lovino's attitude was getting to his nerves, but he wasn't in the mood for an argument right now. It was the first day of his long-awaited summer vacation. Better not waste it. "So? You know, you should really tone down on that grumpiness of yours. It's not like everyone's out to get you or anything."
Lovino just continued to scowl. Why was this guy trying to be friendly with him? Wait, was he? Well, it didn't really matter since he had no plans of becoming friends with someone like him. But—he didn't want to spend his summer looking like a loser and wasting the days away on his own. With a defeated sigh, the Italian took a seat beside the albino. "Don't get too carried away, bastard, I'm not trying to be friends with you or anything!" He yelled in defense even before Gilbert could say anything at all. Looking away, Lovino muttered, "I didn't want to spend my summer with a bunch of people who practically don't care about me. As long as my brother is around, they'll be fine." Gilbert didn't really say anything after that; he just sat there, listening. Telling a complete stranger something so personal was something Lovino didn't do often—in fact, he doesn't really do it at all. But there he was, telling this guy he only knew for a few minutes—even if he didn't really want to know him— something about him. For some reason, he wondered if he was lonely being left on his own like this? It was his choice, but it just felt a little sad that his parents didn't even bother asking him to go home. All they did was tell him not to cause any trouble at the academy.
Gilbert found the silence a little unnerving, and although he could relate to what the brunette was feeling, it wasn't in his character to brood over things like that. He grinned and gave Lovino a pat in the back. "Don't look like you've lost the lottery or something! This was your choice, right? So suck it up and live with what you've decided on. Kesesesese!" Indeed, if he couldn't stand up for his own decisions, no one will and he won't be able to get anywhere. Maybe there was something more to Lovino than what people perceive him to be, and Gilbert was curious to know. The Italian just looked at him as if he just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. As much as he didn't like Gilbert, what he just said was probably right. Who knew this guy could actually think of stuff like that? "J-Just because you said something cool doesn't mean I'm impressed with you or anything. Got that?" Lovino looked away with a huff, mumbling something along the lines of 'I can say stuff like that too!' He could hear Gilbert's laugh from behind him and just decided to ignore it—even if the urge to give the obnoxious jerk a head butt was very tempting.
"Then I'll look forward to the day you'll be able to tell me something really awesome!" Gilbert grinned, taking a closer look at Lovino's face. The brunette faced the albino, frowning at him. Was that supposed to be a challenge? From a frown to a smirk, Lovino looked at Gilbert proudly. "You better! Because the day I tell you something awesome, I'll make sure you'll be speechless!" The Italian's response seemed to have taken the German's interest more, earning him a wide grin. Giving Lovino a pat on the head, Gilbert said, "Try me, shit face."
And that was how their summer vacation began. Something tells them that this would be one summer to remember—how much it would change their lives though, that's something they'll probably find out later.
A/N: That's it for chapter one! Thank you for taking the time to read. Feedback regarding this chapter would be greatly appreciated! See you on the next one.