AU: It was the night in which the Company of Aching Souls roamed the streets. Romano knew not to go out or open the door past midnight, no matter what the tricky souls said. The undead are very persuasive though...
Featuring Antonio and Romano.
Warning for mentions of child abuse
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Lorenzana: The Company of the Aching Souls
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It was the night in which the Company of Aching Souls roamed the streets, close to the solstice and under the bright full moon. Romano knew not to go out of the house no matter what, and not to open the door. Never. He knew that the procession of souls from purgatory may use any terrible trick to try to get you to let them in. He thought he knew better than to be tempted. He did not expect that the image that they would use to try to get him to invite them in would be the image of his best friend, and not so secret crush, frantically knocking on the door and calling his name in fear.
Romano bit his lip and shivered, every inch of his skin curling in horror at the pained sound in Antonio´s voice. Every fibre in him wanted to open, to protect him, to do anything it took to make the pain in those green eyes he saw through the keyhole go away. He couldn't though. He know that it was a trick, even if Antonio looked so real under the light of the single candle that illuminated Loving´s front porch that Romano could even smell the flower and sweet bread scent that always followed the baker's son. Antonio´s brow was split and oozing small amounts of blood still, as Romano had feared so deeply that they would be after the bastard that was his father entered stumbling in the small house that Antonio and his family shared.
Why would Antonio be out past midnight, on a full moon? Everybody knew not to even be awake those nights. Even the drunk and desperate knew to get home before midnight and lock every door and window! Being it was insane. Had the wife-beater of his father kicked Antonio out? In such a night? "No. No, it is a trick, it is a trick" Romano repeated to himself, closing his eyes and hands squeezing his clothes to keep them away from the door´s lock. He should walk inside, to the kitchen with his family, or to his room with his brother, but his feet refused to move.
"Roma!" the voice-oh the usually so sweet and lied back voice- called him, screamed, not giving a rat's ass who else he would wake up, not even in that night. The baker was a monster. He had been a monster before his wife died, he had been a monster before his eldest was taken by the Company of Soul, and after it all he became even worse. But risking sending his kid straight to purgatory by condemned souls and monstrous ghosts, sounded too horrible even for him to do! Then, a terrifying thought crossed Romano´s mind. Maybe the baker had heard about the kiss.
It had been an innocent thing, even if it had meant the world to them, stolen in the stables of Romano´s father that same morning, while Antonio was tending the horses to get some extra money. Romano had been thinking about it for weeks before he got the courage to actually do it. He had sneaked out of bed early. He had made his way to the stables when he thought nobody else would be up to see, tiptoed unnoticed towards the working boy and kissed him quickly on the lips. Then he had run away before his friend could even know what hit him. Romano had flown out of the stables and upstairs into the house, expecting thunder and lightning and divine rage to fall over him for doing such a unholy gesture.and for meaning it so much.
That didn't happen though, no thunder and no storm was unleashed outside. All he got from behind the closed door that communicated his house with the stable was silence. When he gathered enough courage to look back and peek through the door frame and back at the stable he found Antonio's eyes looking straight at him, because the bastard knew Romano so well that he knew he'd come back. Antonio was waiting, and when Romano opened the door he smiled. He smiled a smile that was meant to be reassuring and normal, but was a bit smaller than usual because it was suddenly shy, but hopeful, and happy, and those eyes were so full of sun. Romano´s heart had swollen in happiness. He had forgotten the fear of divine punishments.
He had forgotten arranged marriages and parents and everything. He had just kissed Toni and Toni had liked it! There was an unspoken promise in their smiles when Romano closed the door again and left Antonio to his chores as he sneaked back to bed before anyone suspected. Someone did suspect though. Romano didn't know how, but his parents learned about the kiss. The silent promise for the evening was not fulfilled, of course. He couldn't sneak out to see Antonio before dawn, he instead had the biggest the ugliest family argument he could even imagine. That is why his family was all at the other end of the house, and he had been here by the window. That is why they were all awake even at midnight, even on that day.
What if Toni´s father had heard about it as well? Maybe that is why he looked so badly hurt right now, more than usual. Maybe the baker heard about the kiss and the smile, and he had kicked Antonio into the street at midnight during the night of the Company of Souls on purpose! Maybe it wasn't a trick of the souls, maybe it was real Toni in real danger out there! "Roma! God Roma! Open! Please! Get out!" The voice reached him, the smooth suave taint completely wrecked by panic.
Lovino spied those big green eyes that were filled with absolute dread and forced himself to keep his hands away from the door handle. It was a trick. It was night of the souls today. He should not be awake to start with, his family should be asleep before midnight to avoid this temptations, but there had been a terrible fight that night, and they had all ended up unable to sleep, and- A hit on the window. Lovino caught a flash of Antonio´s face through the curtains. His face looked absolutely terrified as he watched at some point past Roma and before the Spaniard could even step away from the window Romano found himself yanking the door open and letting his friend in, souls from he'll be damned! He'd rather risk spending an eternity of pained wandering over the Earth as a tormented soul than to risk dooming the sweetest person on Earth to that fate!
The freezing wind snapped him on the face. He smelled the pestilence of the grave hitting his nose and heard the door behind opening too. He had made a mistake and now his family was doomed too! Thank God they would see on time and- He wants´t pushed into the house as he expected. His soul was not taken from his body and swirled around in a blasphemous twister of madness and confusion. He felt a very solid, very strong and real hand grab his forearm from outside the house and yank him out so hard that his feet left the ground. He stumbled forward and landed against a warm, solid, very alive chest. Antonio´s chest.
The other boy held him there as if he was never going to let go. He grabbed the Italian's shirt with strong fingers, threw his own cloak over Romano, and slammed the door of the house shut again. Fast. As fast as he could. Fast enought to escape danger, but not before Romano had time to see what was now entering his living room. Behind him, under the frame of the door that communicated living room and kitchen was a ghostly procession of half rotten, translucent bodies. His father and mother, now pale and translucent too, and his brother were at the forefront of the column, walking before the entranced form of one of his servants, that carried a large cross and guided the group of unread forward. He then realized that the stink of open graves he had smelled a second ago didn't come from the street, but from behind him, from his own house.
"Mom!" he cried out, eyes wide in horror when he recognized his family joining the march of ghosts. He tried to escape Antonio´s grip and stumble to open the door of his house again and reach his family, but Antonio wouldn't let him. The elder boy´s hand was on Romano mouth before he could even call his brother´s name. Antonio´s arms were like iron chains around him as he lifted him from the ground to keep him from going anywhere. The kid run back stumbling and crossed the narrow width of the street, getting both of them into his father´s bakery and closing the door. Antonio´s movements were too forced and too quick, and just after the door was shut and secured he tripped and fell on the ground, taking Romano down with him.
The younger boy fought to free himself, kicking and trying to bite Antonio´s hand off his mouth, but the Spaniard din´t let him go no matter what he did, holding him tighter and tighter against his chest. "Let me-mf!-go! I have to-" "You can't, Roma! It is too late!" The struggle continued, while Antonio did his best to explain himself. "I saw Feli open the back door from my window. They-they showed him some pasta he had never tried and-" he whispered as he wrestled with Lovino "I´m sorry I didn´t make it there on time. I tried. I really tried…You can't help them Roma. You can´t. It is too late!"
Eventually reality downed on Romano, and he broke down crying, clinging to Antonio´s ragged shirt for dear life, while his friend held him close to both comfort him and keep him from opening the door and going out. "I´m sorry, Roma. I can't let you open. I'm so sorry. I really am..." While Romano cried his eyes out, Antonio observed through the dirty window of the bakery how the procession of souls spread all through the Vargas´s house, taking everyone in it, and then walked back out in two orderly columns, calling everyone, knocking on doors to try to trick those who were still awake into opening their houses for them. Antonio heard them call his name. He heard their promises of sweets and new horses and a safe house to live in, where nobody would ever hit him anymore, but he didn't listen. He just tightened his hug and stroked his friend´s hair. He had everything he needed in his arms right now.
The only thing that worried him was to not fall asleep. If his father wake up from his drunken slumber and found Lovino here-worse, if he found them both like this- they were both death, literally, in very clear and non supernatural terms. So he had to keep an eye open all through the night to make sure to get Romano out the second the sun rose and the unread horrors vanished back into their graves. Maybe he would return Romano to his home. Roma had a large inheritance now after all, his father had horses and lands, he'd be alright. Maybe Antonio would run away himself after doing that, to avoid causing Romano more problems. Everyone knows that The Company looks for sinners and-maybe they had showed up at their village because of what happened this morning. Antonio had loved that, he-he didn't want to leave, not now! But it was the best. If he disappeared in the early dawn everyone would assume that the Company had taken him too. They would not search for him. Maybe that would be a good plan... Or maybe-Maybe Romano would want to come with him. He would never ask such a thing from him though, but-
He shook his head to get stupid illusions away from it. He'd leave his friend at home and then leave, when the sun rose. Until then, all he should focus on was on comforting the crying boy in his arms and on ignoring the voices of the death that would keep calling his name through the night. He distracted himself looking at the contorted faces of all the miserable souls that conformed the Company of Souls. His older brother was not among them. Just as Antonio had always suspected, his brother had not been taken by the ghosts, he had just run away, leaving him behind with the animal of their father. The bloody traitor.
One of the souls turned her head, attracted by the boiling hate darkening the heart of the boy at the other side of the door. Antonio met her eyes byt clenched his teeth and just helf his friend close, hiding his face by Romano´s crying body. There was nothing they could promise him to make him open the door, he swore to them both in silence, not even revenge.
We all know that Romano will have something to say about Toni´s plan tomorrow though !
-The landlady in my hotel swore that she knew a boy in the village who was supposedly taken by The Company. She also said that people suspected that the kid was actually killed by his father, whom was a piece of work and who would have hiden the body somewhere. It was the civil war so there was not much law enforcement around to check the story. As you notice, Antonio´s family life is based on said boy´s.
-If you think The Company sounds similar to the legends of the Wildhount ...you are totally right!
