The next day, Lovino came downstairs to find his grandfather already in the kitchen, standing over the stove and cooking himself a pan of eggs.
"Ah, Lovino, you're up!" He said cheerily, dumping the eggs onto a plate.
Lovino snickered. "I'm surprised you're not hung over as hell." He commented.
Roma chuckled back. "I have enough sense not to get that drunk anymore. Besides, all I need to have fun is companionship, and I don't believe I ever ran out last night." He put half of the eggs on a plate for Lovino, grabbed a pair of forks, and gestured for him to follow him out to the table. They sat down with their food. "So then, Lovino." Roma said casually, eating a piece of egg before continuing. "Are you going to tell me where Feliciano really is, or will I have to drag it out of your friends?"
Lovino froze. This was it. It was now or never. The next words that came out of his mouth would probably determine whether he lived or died. Metaphorically, but still. "Um…"
Roma raised an eyebrow. Looked like 'um' wasn't the right thing to say. "Come out with it, then. Or did you think I was joking about your friends?"
"He's chained to a tree." Lovino blurted out.
This caused Roma's other eyebrow to lift into the air. "What did you say?" He asked.
"The other day I woke up and he wasn't there so I went downstairs to look for him and there was a note on the coffee table that said I shouldn't try to find him so of course I went looking for him and I thought he would probably be in the forest because he'd been talking about it for days and he was there and he was chained to a tree and he asked me not to tell you because you might try to make him come home and I'm sorry please don't kill me!" He said, all commas seemingly thrown to the wind in the continuous sentence. He braced himself for the inevitable tongue-lashing, but it never came. Instead, his grandfather stood from the table, abandoning his eggs and heading straight for the front door. "Wha- where are you going?" Lovino asked.
"Where do you think? To go find your fratello!" Roma called back, stepping out the door. He popped his head back in and glared at Lovino. "I'll deal with you later." He said, in a tone that just about made Lovino shiver, before he shut the door.
Roma climbed into the car, starting the engine and driving out as fast as he could without getting honked at. He should have known something like this would happen. He'd figured out Lovino had been lying ages ago, but he'd never assumed Feliciano might be doing something dangerous. The worst he'd thought was that his youngest grandson might have been staying with a girlfriend (or boyfriend) and didn't want him to know. But this? He didn't even know what he was going to do with the boy once he found him. A small part of him really didn't want to reprimand him for doing what he thought was right. But the larger, more rational part knew that, right or not, what he was doing was stupid and dangerous, especially since he most likely hadn't planned it out for more than a few hours before actually going and chaining himself to the tree. That was the problem with Feli. He had a good heart, but he was… lacking in logical faculties. Not to say he was stupid, he just didn't think things through. Roma soon pulled in next to the forest sign, stepping out of the car and walking down the path into the forest. It wasn't long before he caught sight of his grandson, sitting under a tree with a blue plastic… thing over him.
"Feliciano!" He called, slightly angrily.
Feliciano's head snapped up from the book he was reading, panic evident in his eyes. "N-Nonno!" He stuttered. "You- did Lovino-"
"Lovino told me everything." Roma said, stopping in front of Feliciano with his arms crossed. "What were you thinking, pulling something like this? Do you know how dangerous this is!?"
"I-" Feliciano started, but didn't get to finish as Roma interrupted him.
"What are you planning to do if there's a rainstorm, then? What if you get sick, or hurt, and can't call anybody for help because I know for a fact you left your cell phone at home? What if a wild animal comes and decides you look tasty?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't think-" He was cut off again.
"What are you even doing for food anyway, Feliciano? Have you been eating acorns, for God's sake!?"
Feliciano's lip trembled, though his eyes were dry. "L-Lovino…" He said hesitantly, as if waiting to be interrupted. "Lovino's been bringing me food every day. And he b-brought me books, so I wouldn't be bored, and I'll be okay if it rains because Antonio put this up for me..." He gestured to the tarp above his head. Oh; so that's what it was.
Roma sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to stave off the inevitable headache. "I just wish you wouldn't do things like this without even telling me, Feliciano. You're my grandson, and I love you, and if you ever got hurt I don't know how I would bear it."
"Oh no, I'm so sorry! I didn't even think- I didn't mean to worry you!" Feliciano exclaimed "Are you… do I have to leave now?" He said, looking down at the ground.
Roma chuckled sadly. "No, you're an adult now, Feli. You can make your own decisions. Besides;" He gestured to the chains around Feliciano's waist. "How am I going to get you out of that?" Feliciano chuckled as well, and the mood was lightened just a bit. "No, Feliciano, you'll stay. And you'll also get to deal with the consequences of your actions, whatever they may be. Are we clear?"
The younger Italian nodded determinedly, his smile still not totally forgone as he tried to look as serious as he could. "Si, of course!"
Roma smirked. "That includes paying the fine and possibly doing the time you get when you get arrested for this. And I don't mean if; I mean when."
Feliciano's face immediately fell. "V-ve? But if it works-"
"No matter if it works and the loggers go away, you're still breaking the law. Can you handle that?" He had to make sure – absolutely sure – that Feliciano was confident enough to go through with this. Otherwise, he knew the whole thing would go to hell fast.
Feliciano nodded again, this time completely serious. "Si. Si, I know I can."
Roma smiled. "Good. Now then;" He sat down carefully beside him, earning a surprised look from the little Italian. "I wouldn't want you to be lonely, now would I?"
Back at the university, Lovino was getting anxious. Like, a lot. Barely able to stay still, let alone pay attention, the teacher's words were lost on the Italian as all the possible fates that could be waiting for him when he returned ran through his head. He was dead. He was so, so dead. His grandpa had said he would deal with him later, and he knew what that meant.
"Lovi?" He turned to his side, realizing that Antonio had probably been calling his name for a while now.
"What?" He whispered harshly.
"It'll be alright." Antonio whispered back. Lovino turned back to the front of the room, his cheeks just a bit red. How did the bastard always know when something was wrong with him, dammit? When the class finally let out, they were luckily on relatively the same schedule, so the two had a nice patch of free time before their next class. "What are you so worried about, querido?" Antonio asked, looking genuinely concerned as the two sat together on their bench in the sun. Lovino blushed at the Spanish endearment before he answered.
"Nonno knows about Feli." He said, his gaze fixed resolutely on the pavement before him.
"Ah, but that can't be it, can it?" Antonio said, leaning closer. "Tell me, why is it so bad that your grandfather knows?"
"Why do you think, moron?" Lovino replied, his heart not really in the insult. "Because I've been lying to him this whole time, that's why! And… and now he's probably going to blame me for letting Feliciano do something stupid like he is, and Feli might have to come home because of me, and I just never meant it to go this way, dammit!" His words grew in intensity near the end of the sentence.
"Shh, it's alright." Antonio said comfortingly, putting his arms around the Italian and pulling him into a hug. For once Lovino didn't push him away, didn't protest. He just hugged him back, hiding his face in Antonio's chest. "I'm sure your grandpa won't be too mad. You were both doing what you thought was right, si? And besides that, I don't think he could get Feli away from that tree if he tried."
Lovino chuckled, lifting his head. "Yeah. I guess you're right." His smile suddenly turned to a frown, and he pointed a finger sternly at Antonio's face. "If you ever tell anyone about this moment of weakness, I swear to God they will never find your body."
Antonio just laughed. "Ahahaha, don't worry, Lovino! Your secret's safe with me!" He said with that airhead smile of his.
Lovino punched him half-heartedly in the shoulder. "Bastard." He muttered.
"You!" They both snapped up at the voice, to see a girl marching toward them. The girl had long, mousy-brown hair and green eyes, and a yellow flower was tucked behind one of her ears. She would have looked rather sweet and innocent, had she not been heading for that bench with a look of fury in her eyes that really made Lovino want to hide in a corner. The girl was Elizabeta, and she was notorious for being both the nicest and most terrifying biology major on campus. She was teased for being so vengeful when she was supposed to be studying to be a doctor, but most people left her alone as she was the only one who could handle Gilbert. After the Italians had started attending the college, the Hungarian girl had taken a strong liking to them. Especially Feli, who she thought was the most adorable creature on the face of the Earth. Though, Lovino had gotten more attention from her since he started dating Antonio, but he was really unsure as to whether that was a good or a bad thing. She stopped in front of them, glaring down at the Italian. "I can't believe you!" She said angrily, hands on her hips. "Your poor brother is out there all alone, bravely trying to save the trees, and you aren't out there supporting him?"
Lovino's eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you yelling at me now? What about when this whole thing started!?"
"That was before Feliciano got visited by a policeman!" Elizabeta shouted, emphasizing the last word. "You should be out there chained to a tree with him! What kind of brother are you!?"
"Hey, hey!" Antonio stood, stepping in between the two with a nervous smile on his face. "Why do we have to fight? We're friends, right?"
"This doesn't concern you, Toni." Elizabeta said. Lovino twitched. Only he got to use that nickname, dammit!
"Lizzy, please, poor Lovi has already been beating himself up about it!" Antonio pleaded.
Elizabeta looked skeptically back to Lovino, only to notice that he did have a twinge of guilt in his eyes. She sighed and pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead. "Alright. Fine. I'll let you off the hook this time." Now that she had apparently deemed her job done, she took the liberty of plopping back on the bench at the same time Antonio did. "How did you even get your grandpa to agree in the first place?" She asked.
Lovino looked away and muttered; "I told him Feli was staying at your house…"
"My house?" She parroted, eyes wide. He nodded. "And you didn't even tell me? What are you planning to do if he calls to check up on him?"
Huh… Honestly, he hadn't thought through quite that far. Luckily, though, the issue was a moot point by now. "Nonno already knows about him and his tree, so there." He said smugly.
Elizabeta looked thoughtful. "And he hasn't killed you yet?"
"N-no…" Lovino said. "He said he'd deal with me later…"
"Ohhh." Elizabeta said in understanding. "Don't worry, I'm sure the funeral will be lovely."
"Sh-shut up!" Lovino protested as Elizabeta laughed. "Bitch…"
"What was that?" She asked sternly.
"Nothing! Nothing, I didn't say anything."
Luckily for Lovino, his boyfriend (Who was so going to have this come back to him in a good way later) stepped in. "Oh, Lizzy, I'm sorry but Lovi and I have to leave for our next class together!" He said, standing up, and taking Lovino with him by the hand.
"Oh, that's alright!" Elizabeta said cheerily as she waved them off. "I'll see you both later!" Lovino waited until she was out of view, then let out a relieved breath. "Oh, thank God. I don't
think I could have taken any more interrogation."
Antonio laughed. "You should be nicer to her, Lovi!" He said as they walked. "She was only worried about your brother."
Lovino rolled his eyes. "Right, right. Because apparently she's decided to fucking adopt us or something." Antonio laughed again before they found the doorway to their classroom and stepped in. Though he felt a little better for Antonio's comforting, Lovino was still nervous as hell about what might be waiting for him when he got home.
Which is why when he did get home, he found himself, once again, really not wanting to even touch the doorknob. When he finally forced himself to open the door and call "I'm home" through the house, he didn't have the luxury this time of being greeted by another of his grandpa's notes. Instead, Roma was sitting right there in his armchair, reading his newspaper like usual. Roma stood from his chair; rolled the paper up, and whacked Lovino on the head with it.
"Ow!" Lovino shouted. "What the hell, old man!? What was- wait." His eyes widened when he realized he wasn't being berated, scolded, or anything of the sort. His grandfather was just standing there, looking by all means unhappy, but not like the furious dragon he had feared he'd have to deal with. "Was that it?" Lovino asked incredulously.
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Lovino." Roma said with a hint of humor.
"No, but seriously!" Lovino continued. "I lied to you about Feliciano and totally enabled him to do something stupid and dangerous like chain himself to a fucking tree, and all you do is hit me on the head with a newspaper? Have you finally gone soft, or are you just too tired to kill me? Are you gonna do it tomorrow when you're rested, is that it?"
This time Roma laughed, just a bit. "No, no." He reassured him. "I spent the day with your brother." He said.
"And?" Lovino asked cautiously.
Roma sighed. "In the end, I suppose you two really were just doing what you thought was right. And besides, what was I going to do? I can't exactly send two nineteen year olds to their rooms, especially the one who currently couldn't climb our stairs if he wanted to." His eyes turned icy for a second, and Lovino gulped. "But if either of you ever do anything like this without telling me again, you won't get off quite so easy."
Lovino nodded. "Yeah, right. Um… we won't. I won't, anyway."
"Good. Now then." Roma said, dismissing him with a wave of the hand. "Go off and do whatever work you have to do today. I'm going to go back to my newspaper, which I didn't get to read this morning, I wonder why." He said as he made his way back toward the armchair. Lovino started his way up the stairs, thinking that taking his grandfather's advice was probably good around now. "Oh, and Lovino?" Roma's call stopped him.
"Yeah?" Lovino called back.
"You're making dinner tonight." Lovino just grumbled and started back up the stairs. The joke was on him, though; he'd been waiting to try out a new recipe for months.
