A small wave here and there, a small smile here and there. That's all Feliciano had to do in order to earn each passing women's expressions twist into pure heart-warmth. His raw desire to see the thrill of the passing lady was everything he needed to label the day accomplished to his needs, the warm grins they returned making his heart ever so slightly lighter. That's what he loved about living in Venice, let alone being the personification of this beautiful country; even when it was a hassle to run. With his other brothers, they managed to withheld the beautiful immaculate scenery of the country – so they could once more listen to the soft waters that coexisted with the breeze.
A jocund Italian such as this only held his heart for a petite, timid critter that were a reoccurring presence under the sun; and more likely in his home town. Perhaps on this certain day, 'under the sun' was a white lie, as today was nothing but the pounding thunder emitting from the clouds and pattering rain on the curve.
Though he did not find thunder to be in his interests, he pushed his fear aside and pulled his coat further around his dainty frame; throwing his ebony hood over his head, rustling his auburn locks. He'd forgotten an umbrella, more so left it in his room. He sighed softly, his boots further dampening from the everlasting pour as he made his was through a street at a brisk walk; using some of the balconies as protection from the clouds' heavy gush. A soft rumble gave way, a violent jolt following by Feliciano. He shook his head so as to rid of excess water, though his efforts were in vain as by one foot from protection and his hair was matted back to his face, obstructing his line of vision. He gently pried away his flat sections of hair, pushing his tresses to the side of his ear. A ruthless pour flooded the street with the small Italian still making his way through, concern leaving a crease between his brows. He fixed his eyes shut, hoping by any luck he'd find his way.
A harsh impact with his foot on a slight jutted pavement sent him colliding with the concrete, a profound amount of panic settling in. He groaned, heaving himself up with his hands, his eyes darting about through tiny slits. They scanned over the drenched terrain, his eyes locking onto a narrow alleyway. He'd found it. His head span with vertigo, breaking out into a hasty jog toward his target regardless.
.
"Feliciano? Where the hell are you? I'm starting to get worried already, pick up!"
Lovino slammed the phone down for the fifth time, the formidable desire to run out and find his younger brother too great for his being. He chucked his phone on the bed, sitting next to it while running both his hands through his hair – having a particularly strong grip on it, giving it the odd rapacious tug.
He shot up from the duvet and shoved his phone back in his pocket after hearing the next rumble, muttering "One-Mississippi, Two-Mississippi, Three-Mississip-". The stress of concern was too compelling for him to ignore any longer. Lovino grabbed his ivory long coat, shoving it on violently and keeping an umbrella on his person. His hand hovered over the door knob before his mission was blatantly interrupted by a thick Spanish accent from behind him.
"Lovi, where on earth are you going in this kind of weather?!" It withheld such concern, Lovino had forgotten his boyfriend, Antonio, had came to visit today - incoherently muttering a reply in his native language before slamming the door. Antonio stood in perplexity, his face twitching from the rather panicked voice. Rather than following him, he opened the door back up and shouted into the bedlam of the streets, 'Stay safe!'.
.
"Feli, I swear to god you're always getting into trouble..." Lovino pondered on the fact of his sibling always causing a mess, having to deal with the backslash himself. It's honestly like his mindless actions were child's play. Regardless of the tediousness of it all, he was still his Brother, "And I love you." He sighed softly, opening his umbrella and holding it above his head; letting the rain capture on it. He watched as the downpour blurred his path, mixing it's colours in the mischievous burden that was rain. Though he enjoyed it's presence to an extent, he'd much preferred to be enveloped in blankets at home – watching as the pure art of nature blends itself into an imprecise portrayal of the outside world; in the end it's all perfect, because nature is nature, and every stroke flawless. He found the secluded haze of heat brought much equanimity upon himself, seeming to be calmed through it's sky dance. And here he was, drenched in the Italian weather – in the cold and bitter heartedness of its harsh pounding. He groaned slightly, bypassing a small alleyway which he registered as nothing but as mere housing. A small balcony covered the alleyway, so he decided to lean against the wall for a small break. He considered that this was the only major trouble he'd had to deal with in a while, It's possible a lot of it had been flying under his radar lately. He narrowed his eyes at the thought, but they shot open at the soft cries of what seemed to belong to an animal. Running into the familiar arms of darkness, he shrouded himself in black; the rain beating on him again with his only navigation being the gradual louder squalls.
"Big brother?"
This was new.
"Is that you, Fratello?"
Lovino shot his head downward, only to make out a familiar shape; gritting his teeth and baring their sharp appearance. He suddenly sighed, hovering the umbrella over both of them, shoving a hand in his trouser pocket.
"Feli, what on earth are you doing out here?" In honesty, he would've been much angrier had it been on any other occasion; but today he just gave up, he was used to this by now. Feliciano did not voice anything through his frozen lips, only a small shuffle caught his attention as what seemed to be two kittens of the sort came crawling out his damp jacket – a deep sigh lingered in front of Lovino. The two seemed identical, small and quite fluffy of sorts; a blotch of brunette fur patched over the brink of their heads, back and tail (Though one of them seem to withheld an everlasting expression of anger). Feliciano chuckled awkwardly, stuffing the kittens back in his jacket. Lovino already knew from that grin what Feliciano wanted, his eyes drifted to the wall momentarily.
"Fine, let's just get home first."
.
The duration of the trip home was longer than expected, many pauses to shuffle the Kittens around in order not to maim them. Feliciano only wanted the best for them. Lovino was strangely silent on the way back, his eyes half lidded as he stared back at the silver clouds lining the sky with mist. They were blank, hard to detect any emotion.
"Big brother, are you okay?" Lovino nodded, the sun was now seeping through a small slit in the rain, set high among the clouds. It dragged its sunlight along the pavement, a bind of bright colours setting itself in the sky comfortably. A small smile toyed at the elder Italian's lips, glancing back at his Brother who was now cradling one of the younger kittens; enjoying the peace.
"Is Lovi smiling?"
Maybe.
"What's it to you?" He retorted, scoffing ever so slightly as he scrunched his nose in indignation. Feliciano let out a small giggle, shuddering from the previous rain that had drenched his entire being.
"You're an idiot, you know that? You should have at least told me where you were going, I could've helped you."
"Wait, you mean we can keep them?"
"I guess so; since you want to. Besides, where else would we put them?" He answered, nonchalant.
"Thank you so much!" Feliciano acknowledged his brother's effort in doing this for him, he found it rather sweet.
.
The rain had lightened up when they walked back in the door, drips of water trickling down their faces and flattened hair. Once they departed from their boots' and coats', Lovino had forced his Brother to shower – only cleaning himself up with a fluffy towel Antonio had let him borrow; though of course he did it for him. He found that a permanent, unamused frown had plastered onto his face as his Boyfriend chased around the kitchen and living room using various blankets in order to salvage any warmth for his partner.
"Honestly, Lovi! You need to be more careful..." He finally settled himself down next to Lovino, who was wrapped in several blankets and held a mug of warm hot chocolate. Still withholding that same unamused frown.
"Tell that to Feliciano, will you?" He huffed, sipping it and perching the rim of the mug on his nether lip to warm his features up.
"Still, you didn't even tell me where you went!"
"Yes I did!"
"Badly!"
He groaned once more, "Well, at least I'm home now." He closed his eyes while he let the fleeting heat crash onto his face. His eyes drifted to the coffee table, the two cats peeping out and letting out the same soft cries at earlier; flailing their legs in an somewhat feeble attempt to walk.
"So this was all the commotion?" Antonio slid off the settee, falling to his knees and inspecting the Kittens, "Have you named them?"
"Not yet, I was going to let Feli decide that."
"You should have a say in it too, Romanito!"
Lovino made a small 'hm' sound, Feliciano walking back into the room in only his boxers and what appeared to be a large button up shirt; Lovino could only guess who it belonged to, and he didn't like the answer.
Evaluating the situation, they found that to the naked eye, the kittens seemed completely healthy. Though still cold from ending up in the storm. They surrounded the coffee table, making sure to give the critters their space and not overwhelm them. Feliciano being the cat expert, estimated they were around three to four weeks of age, with their eyes open and their ability to walk. They exchanged names, Lovino scribbling them down on a sheet of paper; smudging a few with the nuisance that was being a left hander.
Once settled, Antonio read out the sheet and eliminated the names they didn't like. Only to find they crossed off the entire sheet. Struggling for ideas, Antonio rested his head on his palm, his elbow propped up on the coffee table. While they waited for any inspiration to spark through the group, Feliciano checked the genders – declaring they were one of each.
"Hm, what about Artemis and Apollo? Since they are brother and sister after all." Lovino scrolled down his phone, glancing up to see the two nodding in agreement. He reached a hand out after setting his phone down, scratching Apollo's back and receiving a tiny mewl of pleasure.
"Then it's settled, I can't wait to tell Luddie!"
"You have to share everything with him, don't you?"
"Of course!"
Antonio chuckled at the Brothers' brawl, whispering a soft 'Welcome' to the new additions to the family.
And the moral of this story is: If you want a pet - bring in strays. They're too cute to ignore.