Chapter 2: Secret Mafia

His senses started to come to him as soon as he had slept long enough. Lovino blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the sunlight. He didn't want to wake up just yet however. He could tell that something felt different, but it was the good kind. He felt a lot warmer for some reason. He blinked a few times and his eyes fully adjusted, but they still felt heavy. Lovino lowered his head and found the source of the extra warmth.

Feliciano was smiling up at him, as he apparently had snuck into his room in the middle of the night. "Buongiorno, Fratello."

Lovino blinked a few times, still feeling drowsy. "Feli...How did you get in here? What time is it?"

"Well, it was cold in my room last night, so I snuck out and found the key to your room. You were fast asleep, so I just figured you wouldn't mind. Also, it's about the same time you always wake up. What do you do all night that makes you so tired?"

Lovino couldn't answer that question for multiple reasons. "Never mind that. How did you break out of your room?"

"I picked the lock with a needle I found." Lovino blinked again, this time with surprise.

The way Feliciano had said it was so normal, as if it was an average occurrence for a child his age to know how to do something like that. Well, Lovino shouldn't have been that surprised. His little brother was the heir to the secret syndicate, after all. Lovino's eyes started to fail him, as they closed shut, needing more rest to activate properly. "I'm going back to sleep."

Feliciano yawned suddenly. "I think I'll join you..."

Before the next minute had passed, both brothers were already fast asleep. About a couple of minutes later, Elisabeta came down the hall, rolling the cart with tea on it. She stopped by the oldest's room and lightly knocked on his door. "Master, it is time for you to wake."

Silence filled the air longer than it should have. The maid was starting to get worried. "Master, are you alright?"

Still, she received no answer. She twisted the door knob and came face to face with a surprise. "It's unlocked."

A sense of worry started to fill her. She hoped that no one associated with a rival mafia had anything to do with it. Quickly, she opened the door, and came to a sight that was a rather adorable display. Lovino and Feliciano were fast asleep. Elisabeta had to summon all her willpower so that she wouldn't fawn over it, loud enough to wake them up, because they were cute just the way they were.

She smiled wide as she quietly pushed the cart over to Lovino's bedside. The maid was planning on leaving it there, only to remove it after they had woken up. Because when they looked that adorable, there was no way that she would even think about disturbing them.

The secret meeting room was filled once again. Lovino and Elisabeta had walked in and seen so. They didn't really have any big job to pull of that night, however, their hands had been stained the night before. A brunette man had stepped out of the kitchen with a huge smile that reminded Lovino of the one his brother wore.

"Alright everyone, I made some tomato stew."

The entire room groaned in unison. "Tomato stew again? That's getting bloody old, you know." The man with bushy eyebrows commented, never taking his eyes from the newspaper he was reading.

"What's wrong with it?" The brunette man asked, his smile fading.

"We literally have it every night, aru. It is my turn to cook." The man with the ponytail remarked.

"But I made it special for everyone."

"I can cook something if you lot are so distraught over it." The one with the bushy eyebrows commented casually.

"No! Your food is terrible, ahen!"

The man still didn't look up from his paper. "Tch. Fine, just have Francis make something then."

The blonde at the desk perked up when he heard his name. "Oh no, I am afraid I cannot at the moment, for I have received a visit from the Angel of Inspiration."

"Hmm, another one of your trashy romance novels, is it?"

The blonde at the desk immediately turned to face the bushy eyebrowed man. "They are not trashy! They are beautiful expressions of love that I have cultivated from my heart and onto the paper! Saying such things is insulting to, not only my work, but the works of countless romantics all throughout the world!"

The man smirked. "All I heard was trash and clichés."

The romantic rose to his feet faster than a bullet. "Listen, you British fool! You take that back or else you will feel the pain of my smacks!"

The Frenchman heard paper shuffling behind him. "And as Meredith stood there with a rose in hand, she could not wait any longer. Either she was to confess to her love, The Prince of the Kingdom of Night, Prince March, or it would all end with regret threatening to swallow her whole. The two Kingdoms of Day and Night were never allowed to mingle and, and citizens from both civilizations were forbidden from loving one another, but it was a challenge that the brave princess was willing to take on, in order to protect her love and her freedom. Dude, I hate to break it to you, but this is incredibly cliché."

"Alfred, you shouldn't be reading that without permission." A quiet blonde, who looked a lot like the man reading the paper, said.

Alfred scoffed. "Relax Mattie, I'm sure he can handle a little constructive criticism."

"It's just, your criticism isn't always-"

"Woah, Prince March fell in love with Meredith's sister? How messed up is that?" Matthew only sighed.

"I must say, I love reading stories of the romantic type. May I take a look at that?"

Alfred only shrugged. "Sure."

The white haired man started reading, and then chuckled darkly as he got through half of the page. "Stop laughing creepily! My beautiful work is not something that should be stained with your freaky personality!"

Lovino wore an annoyed expression as the fighting around the room persisted. Antonio and Yao argued over cooking arrangements. Arthur continued to make snide remarks at Francis, which only angered him further. Alfred and Matthew were getting freaked out by Ivan's creepy behavior. Lovino's eye twitched in annoyance. And to think that this all started over tomato stew.

"Fratello! Wake up!"

Feliciano shook his older brother with as much force as he could muster. Lovino's eyes blinked open a few times to adjust to the light surrounding him. "Feli, what is it?"

"You should have been awake an hour ago. I thought you were dead or something."

Lovino shut his eyes and sighed, tired. "I can assure you, I'm not dead. The Abello Family would have to do a lot more than that to kill me."

After he realized what he had said, he opened his eyes and saw a confused Feliciano, who had no idea what he was talking about. "Uh, I mean, I'm not dead."

Feliciano blinked once, and then he started lying down beside his brother. "Lovino, can you answer this question honestly?"

He cracked one eye open. "What?"

It was silent for awhile before Feliciano responded. "What do you do all night that makes you so tired?"

The eldest knew that he would ask the question sooner or later. He sighed. "You want me to answer honestly?"

"Mhmm."

Lovino sighed. "Let's just put it this way. I have a lot of work that comes with being head of the Vargas House, including some personal goals I have set for myself that I feel I must accomplish before my time is up. It's nothing you have to worry about, though."

Feliciano figured that the answer was good enough for now, so he nodded and smiled. "I love you, Fratello."

Lovino cracked an eye open and kissed Feliciano on his head. "I love you too, Fratellino."

And so, the two of them fell asleep together for the second time that week.