A/N: Just a little note, whatever is happening now, happens a few days after the previous chapter.
Year 840
Shinganshina District
"Oi, Antonio. You got any tomatoes? I'm starving, you bastard." Lovino sat lazily on a crate, leaning back onto the wall behind him. Antonio, a tall guy with green eyes and brown hair walked over and passed him a big red juicy tomato.
"You might not want to finish all the tomatoes at once, you know how hard it is to get those."
Lovino took a bite into the tomato, and nodded his head nonchalantly. He knows tomatoes are one of the rare foods around here, but he just cannot help it. Tomatoes are his absolute favourite.
Antonio just chuckled at the Italian. "Lovi," the Italian looked over, using the sleeve of his uniform to wipe away the tomato juice dripping down his chin.
"Want to go to the top of the wall with me again? You can finish your tomato while looking at the beautiful scenery from up there!"
"Tch, if I wanted to go, I'd go with a pretty lady, damn it."
"Ah, actually, Bel is already up there, but if you—" Before Antonio could finish his sentence, Lovino grabbed him by his wrist and pulled him over to the mechanism that gets them up there. "Let's go, Spaniard."
.
Once at the top, Lovino could not help but grip onto Antonio's arm tightly. He was not afraid of heights, per se. Rather, he was afraid that he might do something wrong again, make another mistake. Three weeks ago, Lovino was up there with Antonio and Bel. He accidentally kicked a bomb off the wall. Lucky for him, it fell and exploded outside the walls, otherwise he probably would have destroyed a third of Shinganshina. He was so scared that he did not have the guts to go back up again.
He took careful steps behind Antonio, careful not to step onto him. Antonio just smiled as he thought about how cute Lovino was, while holding on to his half eaten tomato for him. He walked towards a small and slim figure.
"Hola, Bel! We're here!" The Spaniard chirped and upon hearing the name, Lovino quickly let go of his grip on Antonio's arm, and tried to look as cool as he can, while being careful.
"Ciao, bella. Nice scenery up here, right?" That earned a chuckle from Bel.
"My, my Lovino! Nice to see you up here again!" Lovino immediately blushed, knowing what she was referring to. She just giggled at his reaction and turned back to Antonio. "He's such a dear, isn't he?"
Antonio nodded his head, smiling as he did so. "Lovino can be really cute when he wants to be. He just chooses to be grumpy all the time."
"Chigi! I'm not grumpy you damned bastard!" His face turned red as he retorted, which only got chuckles and laughter from the other two.
After their laughter died down and Lovino cooled off, they stood silently next to each other while watching the scenery beyond the walls. It was magnificent. It was an open field just outside the walls with a small number of two to five metre class titans roaming around but nothing too big. Beyond that, there were many tall trees. The sun was also shining brightly, and birds flew freely all around. Antonio was right, eating a tomato while enjoying this scenery was a good idea. They stood in silence as they admired the scenery, until Bel broke the silence.
"Hey Lovi?"
"Hm?"
"Why did you join the Garrisons? Was it because of Antonio?" The question caught Lovino off guard, and his face immediately turned red as the both of them turned to look at Lovino.
"W-What? Damn, no! Why would I join just because of this dumb bastard!" He stuttered, and he fought to maintain eye contact with the both of them. Bel giggled at his reaction, and turned to whisper to Antonio, though it was loud enough for Lovino to hear.
"Aw, see Toni, I told you he was concerned for you." Antonio smiled brightly as he nodded his head in response. Lovino could not think of any retort, and his face grew redder. It was true. When he was three, he was separated from his younger brother, Feliciano. Ever since then, he has been living with Antonio, who had constantly cared for him. It was only the two of them, although Bel would visit them often and sometimes, her brother Ned tagged along. Soon, Ned joined the Trainee Corps, and afterwards, the Military Police. He and Bel had both agree to do their best, and that the both of them can join the MP and live together within the safety of the inner walls. Thus, two years later, Bel and Antonio joined the Trainee Corps. Sadly, Bel did not make top ten, so she chose the safer route and joined the Garrisons. Antonio joined the Trainee Corps because he wanted to look after Bel and as such, he joined the Garrisons too.
This worried Lovino, of course. He would never admit it, but he cared deeply for Antonio and did not want him to get hurt. He knew what Antonio was like, too kind and always so cheerful, he was afraid that Antonio might be bullied by his superiors and fellow soldiers. As a result, when he was old enough, he joined the Trainee Corps as well, and graduated into the Garrisons. When Antonio asked why he chose the Garrisons, all he said was because he was too lazy to venture beyond the walls, and Antonio believed him. Only Bel noticed how much Lovino cared for Antonio, and the fact that Lovino always denies that amuses her.
The three of them were having a little chat and laughter when suddenly, Antonio tensed up. He was frozen, staring off into the distance. Bel and Lovino noticed it and started nudging him.
"Toni? Toni, you okay?"
"Tonio, you bastard, don't just freeze up like that!"
Antonio just shook his head in disbelief, pointing into the direction he was staring at. Lovino and Bel turned and to their horror, a huge titan was approaching their way. Steam was coming out of his body, through his head, his arms and his legs. It was an abnormal titan, and they know it. What worried Antonio was the fact that it was unbelievably huge, and it might be possible that it was taller than the wall. Lovino's legs were starting to give way, as he grabbed onto Antonio's arm. Bel, on the other side, just stood looking at the titan.
"Toni, what do we do?"
"Use the flare gun…" Antonio whispered to himself, before turning to Bel. "Use the flare gun! Notify everyone up here immediately! I'll notify those below."
Bel nodded and went off to get her flare gun. She checked it before firing a red flare, signalling 'Danger'. Antonio held onto Lovino, helping him walk over to the mechanism.
"It's okay, Lovi. Nothing is going to happen to you, I won't let anything happen to you, okay?" Antonio's words were soothing, but that did not stop Lovino from worrying. He was terrified. He had never seen such a huge titan before. The tallest one he had ever seen was only 5 metres tall. He gripped onto Antonio tightly as he steadily got onto the mechanism. It started moving, and Lovino turned to Antonio.
"T-Tonio, does this mean we're in danger?"
"I don't know Lovi, but I really hope not." Once they reached the ground, Antonio called out to the other members, warning them of a possible titan attack. Almost immediately, the sounds of the canon being fired could be heard, one after another. This caused some unrest among the nearby villagers, and Antonio tried his best to calm them down, telling them that there was nothing to worry about. Lovino was trailing close behind, and Antonio turned to him.
"Lovi, check that your 3DMG is properly fastened." His voice was calm, yet stern at the same time. "I'm not sure what this titan can do, but should anything happen, please keep calm and remember all that you have learnt from being a soldier."
"Damn it, you bastard! I know what to do!" Despite saying this, Lovino was still scared inside. He had never encountered a live titan before. He did not know what it was like to be up-close and personal with a titan, and he was worried, worried that he might screw up and cause hurt to those who he treasures deeply.
Antonio just chuckled and ruffled Lovino's hair comfortingly. "No te procupes, nothing will happen to you, I promise. Just stay near me, okay?" He smiled brightly, hoping he was at least able to assure the Italian. Lovino looked at him, and true enough, he did feel much better. Antonio was always able to comfort him and made him feel better, though he would never, ever admit that to anyone.
"Who said I was worried, dumbass. I'll do fine." He folded his arms, and turned away. Antonio was about to say something, when suddenly the ground started to shake and a loud crashing sound was heard. They turned and to their horror, they saw that the gates had been damaged slightly. Luckily, the soldiers around the area are able to hold the huge titan in place. He was tied up almost immediately after. He was unable to move, but it was only a matter of time before he broke loose from their grasp.
However, from Antonio and Lovino's point of view, the doors were slightly damaged and it was about a metre tall. This means that the smaller titans have a chance of entering the village, and if they leave it there, the titans would probably find a way to make the hole bigger and let larger titans in.
"Mierda…´He turned to the other soldiers present and gave his command. "We have to set up a barricade before the titans come in, aprisa! We don't have much time!" Soldiers nodded and headed off to find items that could possibly block the hole.
"Lovino, you go too. I have to stay here, in case the hole gets bigger or anything."
"B-But Tonio, it's dangerous, and I'm… I'm scared…" Lovino was almost pleading, as he gripped onto Antonio's hands, blushing slightly and trying his best to avoid eye contact.
"Está bien, Lovi. Just go. Trust yourself and you'll be okay." He held onto Lovino's head and ruffled his hair, before giving one last smile. Lovino hated to admit it, but he felt much better. He gave a light nod and slowly let go of Antonio's hand. He looked at Antonio one last time before turning around and flying off with his gear.
Antonio's smile faded slightly as he look at Lovino take off.
Cuidate, Lovino. Please take care.
A/N: Forgive me if I got any of the foreign words wrong! They are not the languages that I am used to. I am trying to learn as well, so please do correct me if I am wrong!
Hola – Hello
Ciao – Hello
No te procupes – Don't worry
Mierda – Shit
Aprisa – Quickly
Está Bien – It's okay
Cuidate – Be safe
Also, just in case.
Bel - Belgium
Ned - Netherlands/Holland
