Disclaimer: I don't own it, I just ship it

Warning: AU, strong language, boy x boy pairings, violence (more so bullying in the beginning), and because this was inspired by the manga Iris Zero, there may be some minor spoilers for it.

Thanks again for all your wonderful feedback! I love hearing your thoughts about the story. This fic in particular is a lot of fun to write, but after looking over your comments, I think Ludwig better avoid dark alleys for awhile… :P


oOo


The Student Council Room had quickly become an uncomfortable place. The warm-colored tile and the natural sunlight streaming through the large windows did little to help ease the tension that filled the air. There were only three people in the room, but it felt like it was crammed to capacity.

"Well, Ludwig?" Roderich arched an eyebrow. "What's the problem? He was telling the truth, was he not?"

Feliciano felt his eyes well up with tears. He had only wanted to make a special card for Ludwig, he didn't mean for any of this to happen. Maybe it would be better to admit it? He'd take whatever punishment he had coming, he felt awful for putting Ludwig in such a difficult position. The German was feeling horribly conflicted himself, but before he could stammer out an answer, the solution strolled into the room in the form of Feliciano's angry older brother.

"What the hell are you bastards doing, giving my brother such a hard time?" Lovino frowned at them. Quickly his eyes flickered to his brother's location, the items he was holding, and the terrified expression on his face. "Feli, you idiot, why didn't you just tell them you were here for me?"

"For you?" Roderich asked, his voice turned sharp. He wasn't thrilled with the idea of the Iris Zero sullying the Student Council room.

"Obviously," Lovino rolled his eyes. "I took too much stuff earlier, so I asked Feli to return the extra materials for me."

"How dare you enter the meeting room uninvited!"

"Put a sock in it, piano bastard," the tsundere brushed a strand of hair out of his unimpressed green eyes. "Nobody cares what you have to say."

"You will once I go to our advisor and have you expelled!" snapped Roderich. "Stealing is a crime, if I'm not mistaken."

It was a well-known fact that Edelsteins have always been involved on World Academy's Student Council program. Roderich's uncle was the current teacher serving as the Student Council Advisor and Roderich himself was Vice President for the past two years. Fortunately, Alfred stepped in smoothly before things got even more out of hand.

"Whoa, whoa, everybody calm down…" the blonde waved his hands to get their attention. "Lovi's not a thief, I asked him to swing by on his way home to help me out with something."

"Very well," the Austrian replied through gritted teeth. He knew he couldn't go against the President. "But in the future, I suggest you exercise more caution with the kind of people you allow in the Student Council room.

"Sure, sure!" Alfred said dismissively, before throwing an arm around Lovino, giving him his full attention and guiding him back into the hallway. "So about those genetically-engineered monkey butlers I was telling you about…"

"You really think I'm going to waste my afternoon designing uniforms for them?" Lovino scoffed, rolling with it like a pro.

"But I can pay you using the Student Council funds…"

"Alfreeeeed…!" Roderich followed them out, veins popping all over his forehead.

Ludwig stood there in shock. For the first time ever, he saw how the truth could have ruined everything, but a few harmless lies actually saved the day. He could only slowly blink and watch the two boys exiting the room with devil tails trailing behind them. Before Ludwig had more time to process the outcome, he was glomped by the smaller Italian.

"Luuuudwig!" Felicano sobbed. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to cause so much trouble!"

The sniffling brunette quickly explained what he had been doing in there and went over his outline for Ludwig's Cheer Up Card in great detail. After losing the blonde somewhere around the intricate boarder of wurst and potatoes, Ludwig felt he should interrupt.

"Feliciano, you don't have to go to such lengths to make me feel better…"

"Ve~?"

"I'm already very happy that you're…that you're my friend."

"Really, Lud?"

The German coughed slightly and nodded. Sentiments of the heart weren't his expertise, but if the amount of force Feliciano put behind his current hug was anything to go by, he'd done alright.


oOo


"Wow! You were just like a real superhero back there!" Alfred grinned, resting his hands behind his head.

"What?" Lovino asked, grateful they had managed to lose Roderich before the crazy American started spouting nonsense. Like hell he was taking the blame for the blonde's brain damage.

"The way you protected your little bro!"

"I'm his big brother, it's my job, stupid."

The two passed the long, yet deserted hallway leading to the garden. It was between buildings, so it was more like an outdoor corridor. A warm breeze blew between the archways, carrying the scent of tulips, roses, and lilacs from the nearby garden. Lovino often liked going to this part of the school to relax when no one else was around. What he didn't know was that Alfred did too.

"Dammit…" Lovino muttered when he saw a large group of students (probably from some dumb club) turn the corner. He'd never admit it, but he had been enjoying the blonde's company…just a little. "Well, seey—ah!"

"Quick! This way!" Alfred grabbed the brunette's wrist and gleefully yanked him into the courtyard. "I wanna show you something cool!"

"W-Where are you taking me, bastard?!" the tsundere snarled, glancing back at the group of students. They hadn't seen them, which was good. He was still pissed, though. Why did a damned stranger have more control over his life than he did? It wasn't fair… "Hey! I asked you a question!"

"You'll see!" the hero laughed.

A few minutes later and the two were sitting on an old stone bench near the school pond. Sunlight glittered off the still waters. Everything was quiet, save for the occasional fish jumping and the soft buzz of people and traffic far off in the distance. It was a nice, secluded area thanks to the weeping willow trees surrounding them. Since it was on the edge of World Academy's boundaries, few students actually came there. The scenery seemed so out of place in a school. It looked more like something from the pages of a storybook.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" Lovino glanced around, trying to look unimpressed. He wasn't about to give Alfred the satisfaction of knowing about a place he'd like.

"Isn't it cool?" Alfred leaned back against the bench, using the tree trunk as his back rest. "I found it when I was a kid and visiting one of my older cousins here. Arthur tried to convince me they were Whomping Willows to scare me."

"Did he?" the brunette couldn't help but smirk.

"Maybe a little…" Alfred admitted. "But nothing the hero couldn't handle! The next time I visited we dueled and I won."

"You picked a fight with a tree?"

"Didn't you do crazy things as a kid?"

"Nope."

"Not ever?"

"Not ever," Lovino crossed his arms. "You can ask my idiot brother or cousin if you don't believe me."

"No, I believe you…" Alfred smiled, not quite believing him. "So, what did you do for fun?"

"Art, reading, football – and not your stupid American kind – swimming, helping in the garden…"

"That sounds pretty normal to me."

"Of course I had a normal childhood!" growled the Italian. Or at least as normal as he could manage, given the circumstances. "Hell, until I was eight, I even had people believing I had an Iris! Can't get any more normal than that, dammit."

"Really?" Alfred asked. Lovino had his attention, now. He wanted to find out more about his new friend and was stoked Lovino was finally talking to him more. It was a good idea to show him a secret place where he didn't have to worry about other people and could be himself. "How'd you pull that off?"

Lovino smiled smugly and began his trip down memory lane…


oOo


In order to survive the playground, Lovino had to fake an Iris. Playing his strengths, Lovino claimed his power was to see images that gave him clues about what other people's Irises were. This also made up for the few times he was off by a little or wrong. Not that it happened often, mind you. Lovino was so gifted at analyzing individuals and their powers that he was able to guess right nearly every time. He became so good, people believed him for years.

It was one of the few things his family actually supported him on. Or at least partially-supported. His late mother never judged him for being an Iris Zero, but she passed away when he was very young. After that, Feliciano played along with Lovino's 'Iris' because of his guilt over blaming his brother for their mother's death. Normally, Feli would say Lovi 'didn't talk about it much' when asked by others. That way he wasn't lying outright. His grandfather thought his talent was genuine and encouraged him to study more about Irises, in the vain hope that Lovino's lie might become an actual Iris if he tried hard enough. His father never cared one way or another. After his son had been branded an Iris Zero, he had little to do with the boy.

This was why Lovino worked so hard to keep up appearances. If he could convince others that he was a normal boy with a normal Iris, maybe things would get better. Maybe his brother would be happy… Maybe his Nonno would feel more comfortable taking him out for gelato in public… And maybe…just maybe, his father would smile at him again.

It was fun while it lasted, living his silly little dream, but all good things had to come to an end. The day the potato bastards transferred into his elementary school was the beginning of his Fake Iris finale. Lovino first noticed them when Ludwig started playing with Feliciano during recess. The older Vargas brother would often see this while playing with his own group of friends outside…Lovino had forgotten how popular he had once been.

Regardless, he noticed Feli's new friend and kept an eye on him out of habit. It wasn't that he was worried about his brother or anything. He was just making sure the little potato muncher wasn't some kind of bully who would make Feliciano cry. Right. That's why he was trying to figure out his Iris, in case it was important.

The first impression Ludwig left was that he was a creepy little bastard. He coldly stared at staff and students alike and outright refused to play anything involving make-believe. Ludwig said very little, always keeping things short and to the point. Lovino doubted he even knew how to exaggerate or go off on tangents. How in the world could he stand being around Feliciano? The German looked sad around people he walked behind and refused to make eye-contact with the majority of his class. Feli seemed to be the only person Ludwig did like and Lovino watched him flock over to his fratello at the start of every recess.

"Creepy potato pants…" the younger Lovino muttered from his position on the monkey bars.

"Oh, so you noticed too?" another boy asked.

"Huh?"

"Those two new students are really weird!" a girl wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah, but don't let the big brother hear you!" a boy warned. "He told my brother that his dad works in the Army and he lets him shoot guns!"

"Real guns?"

"Uh-huh!"

"He's just lying…" Lovino laughed.

"I wonder what they're really like…"

"I wonder what their Iris is!"

"Yeah, they never said anything about it, yet."

The group of five or so children giggled to themselves as they came up with possible Irises for the two transfer students. The power to see farts and the power to find smelly socks were among the highest voted.

"You guys are so dumb!" an older girl crossed her arms. "All you have to do is ask Lovino to check!"

"Oh, yeah!"

And just like that, it felt like every eye in the playground was on him. Lovino swallowed slowly. He didn't usually garner this much attention when using his fake Iris. He mostly relied on identifying a few of his classmates Irises through deduction and having kids blabbing about it to others, vouching for him in the process. Hell, half the time other kids spilled the beans on a friend or sibling's Irises beforehand, requiring little to no work on his end.

This time was different. This time the entire playground was watching him.

At some point, Lovino felt himself being dragged over to Ludwig by the others. It felt like he was watching himself in a movie and could do nothing to stop it. He groaned to himself quietly. What a giant mess…

"Hey, Ludwig! Luuuuudwig!" a girl called out. "Tell us what your Iris does!"

"Yeah, Ludwig! Tell us, tell us!" a group of boys agreed.

The little German boy only looked at his shoes, clearly uncomfortable with the idea.

"Fine, if you don't tell us, Lovino will!"

"His Iris tells him about other people's Irises!"

Ludwig looked up in shock and nervousness. Lovino could still remember how he looked like a scared little rabbit, ready to race back to his rabbit hole to escape the pack of hungry wolves. The distressed German bit his lip as the confident Italian stood his ground. He couldn't exactly back down with half the school staring him down. Lovino had to do this if he was going to keep up his act. That little lie was his key to getting a real Iris one day, wasn't it? He could finally be a normal kid, just like the others! The others didn't realize how important that was to him. As scared as Ludwig looked, he'd eventually get over it. If he was right about Ludwig's Iris, the boy had nothing to be ashamed of. It was actually kind of useful. Lovino couldn't figure out why the little runt wasn't bragging about it already.

"Hmm…let's see…" Lovino pretended to analyze the pictures he claimed he could see. In reality, he mentally reviewed all the clues he gathered about the distrusting German boy who always told the truth. "You can see…lies. You know when a person is telling the truth or not."

The look of surprise on Ludwig's face was all they needed to confirm it. Instantly, a group of kids were asking Ludwig a million questions about his super-cool Iris while Lovino's friends were congratulating him on another job well done. Some of his newer fans asked him to explain it again, so he did. Lovino told them he could see images pop up around a person that gave him clues, like a puzzle to solve.

He knew it was a risky move to pull in front of a kid who could see lies, but figured shy little Ludwig would shut his piehole. It wasn't a complete lie…it really was a reference to the mental process he used. The brunette agreed with his friend about it being a useful Iris, hoping to avoid a complete lie (he didn't say it was his Iris, after all).

But none of that mattered.

"L-Liar! !"

Lovino had underestimated how much Ludwig hated liars. He suspected through other conversations, the blonde realized his deepest secret…that he had no Iris, he was just a liar.

"What'd you say?" One of Lovino's tall friends shouted at the German boy. It would be the last time he ever defended Lovino.

"Liar! !" Ludwig exclaimed again, pointing directly at the Italian.

Lovino couldn't say anything to counter that. He knew Ludwig could see through his lie and he had just given him full authority on the matter by revealing his lie-detecting Iris. His former friends and classmates stared at him in shock and disgust. It wasn't long before they put the pieces together and realized Lovino was an Iris Zero.

From that day on, he was bullied.


oOo


By the end of his little trip down memory lane, Lovino was surprised at how much he told Alfred. He didn't usually talk about himself that much with…well, anybody. And out of all the people in the world to lend him an ear, Alfred wouldn't have been at the top of his list based on his attention span alone. Normally, Alfred was constantly asking questions or interrupting him. Maybe even he can be a good listener when it really counts?

"That must be really hard on you…" Alfred said with genuine sympathy. "Since Feliciano and Ludwig are such good friends, I mean."

"I don't think Feli remembers the macho potato from back then."

"How can he not? You do, right?"

"Of course I do, dumbass," Lovino glowered at him. "That guy ruined my life."

"Then…you never told your brother about it?"

"What was the point?" the Italian sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, Ludwig didn't do anything wrong."

"…You lost me," Alfred scratched his head.

"He was a dumb kid who just told the truth. It just happened to be my lie he was exposing," Lovino huffed. "Maybe it was for the best…if he hadn't I still might be lying my way through school."

"You weren't lying…you were hiding your secret identity," Alfred patted his friend's back reassuringly.

"Thanks, bastard," Lovino stood up. "Even though I still hate the potato-muncher, it might have been better for my secret to be revealed then instead of now. That way I can still chalk it up to a kid playing pretend, not a teenager betraying everyone's trust."

"That's pretty deep."

"Yeah, I'm a confusing bastard, I know."

"Actually, I was just thinking you're one of the coolest people I've ever met."

"Bullshit. I don't even need an Iris to call you on that."

"No, it's true!" Alfred stood up to meet him closer to eye level. "Think about it, Ludwig and your bro are friends. I know you don't get along with Ludwig, and would probably prefer Feliciano to hang out with other people, but you never once guilt-tripped your brother with the fact that you know it was Ludwig who told everyone you didn't have an Iris way back when."

"Only because I find insulting the potato bastard much more satisfying," Lovino tried to shrug off the blonde's compliment, but wasn't able to do anything about the heat rising in his cheeks. He wasn't used to dealing with praise.

"You're a good guy, Lovino," Alfred smirked, poking his friend's nose. "Even if you won't admit it."


oOo


A/N – Well, crap. I was going to cover more of the present day here, but the flashback scene sort of took over and here we are. Hopefully, you didn't mind too much. Lovi's such an awesome brother! Next chapter will be Flashback-free and introduce the main members of the Shipping Club (Yes, they really did make a club for that) and their respective Irises. I had fun coming up with those ones ^^

Oh, and the reason younger Lovino chose a complicated fake Iris over an easy one was because he wanted to make his family proud. He'd gather more recognition for an Iris that gave clues about other Irises than an Iris that revealed a picture he would draw in the future from the cloud formation. Of course, he was a kid when he decided on his fake Iris, so he didn't realize how hard it would be to pull off his tricky Iris-identifying "power" later on in life.

-Rajikka

Translations

Fratello – Brother (It.)

Nonno – Grandpa (It.)

Tsundere – A type of character seen in anime or manga known for appearing cold or hostile, but having a hidden sweet side. "Tsun Tsun" is the aloof or irritable side, while "Dere Dere" is the lovey dovey side. (Jp.)