So I got lucky and had a day with no homework, hallelujah! I also just finished the anime Bibliotheca de Dantalian and started Mirai Nikki, but I feel like watching these has made my writing more depressing. Not to mention I'm still writing my own version of Dante's Inferno for English. So much dark literature! :3 (I may actually post that on here since I'm using some familiar characters~)
And thank you so much for people who reviewed! Especially those double or even triple reviewers~ Many answers will come in the next few chapters after this.
Anywayz, enjoy reading ze chapter!
I own nothing :(
"Hola guys!" Antonio yelled out to two others as he ran up to them. Lovino struggled to keep his perch on the man's shoulder as he ran ahead. In front of them stood Gilbert and Ludwig, or at least he assumed that's who it was since he'd never met the bastard before. He quickly caught sight of his brother and Matthew as well, who were both sitting with their owners.
"What took you so long? It's not awesome to make people wait, you know!" Gilbert grumbled in mock hurt as Antonio finally made it to the table they were seated at.
"Well it's not like we're going anywhere right?" Ludwig gave a curt nod and set down Feliciano, who excitedly made his way over to Lovino when he jumped down. Antonio made a strange cooing noise as the two cats sat together.
"True. But it's still not cool to make someone wait for ya. So how has your week been with little Tomate?" Lovino chose this time to ignore what their owners were saying and turned to Matthew, who had jumped down from the table moments earlier.
"You two surviving with those potato bastards?" Lovino asked with a hardly concealed glare at the two men he meant.
"Everything's fine with me~! Ve~ Ludwig is so nice to me!" Feliciano smiled brightly like he always did. Lovino couldn't help slightly cringing knowing who had caused it.
"It's fine at my home too. Gilbert has been trying to cheer me up the past week, and I would be lying if I didn't admit that it was helping." Lovino turned to the fluffy white cat. He did seem a bit brighter than he had been in the pet store, but only slightly.
"It's been fine on my end as well. But do either of you know what the hell is going on? The tomato bastard switches from giddy to depressed in a split second." Feliciano looked confused at this and the three turned to see Antonio as happy as he usually was. Only Lovino was aware of the darker side of things.
"Gilbert had similar mood swings a few times, but not often. I think they lost someone who was dear to them, if I recall from what I've heard. I haven't caught a name though." Matthew thought back to his first night with Gilbert and the conversation he had had with Ludwig. Something had been off, but he hadn't been sure what.
"Ve~ Can't we talk about something else? This is getting depressing!" Both of the cats turned to Feliciano who smiled at them. "Why don't we run around for a bit? You two look so stressed! You just need some pasta and some fresh air. Ve~ I want pasta…"
Before either could respond, Feliciano was already running through a bush. It continued rustling and the tabby poked his head back out when he found that neither had followed him. Lovino and Matthew looked at him for a second before Lovino sighed. "I guess I have been getting a bit worked up about all this damn crap."
"As have I. It's just hard after everything that's happened, eh?" Feliciano's smile grew as he motioned for the other two to follow him.
"I can smell something really good coming from over here! Maybe it's pasta!" With that the other cat was off again. After sniffing the air Lovino realized that there was an alluring aroma coming from somewhere nearby. It wouldn't hurt to take a look, would it?
Following quickly behind, the three cats made their way through some bushes before they finally discovered the source of the scent. A small stand was selling pastries and Feliciano could see a cannoli sitting with others on a tray. Lovino could see a few pignolata that he remembered having when he was younger. He was tempted to change back into his human form just to get one, but he knew he had no money anyway. The two cats had been about to walk up when they realized how stiff Matthew had become beside them.
"Ve~ What's wrong Matthew?" Feliciano walked over to see what was wrong. Although Lovino could see he was panicking as tears were starting to form in his eyes. Matthew just continued to stare not at the stand, but at the man standing in front of it.
A short man with messy blonde hair and green eyes that were below large eyebrows. He was currently asking the woman at the stand for something, but he seemed out of place in the park. He was wearing a sweater vest over a neat white shirt and a pair of expensive-looking dark pants. The brothers tried to get Matthew to respond to anything they were saying when he finally murmured something that was inaudible to their ears.
"What? Matthew you have to be louder." Lovino said and the cat finally spoke loud enough for the others to hear.
"That's him." The brothers turned to look at the man again. "That's the man who adopted my brother."
Everything clicked in Lovino's mind, even Feliciano looked at the man with a concerned expression. Matthew had an urge to run up and would have even changed so he could communicate with the blonde, but he knew he had to be careful. If he scared him away, then he may never be able to meet up with his brother again.
"I want to get closer, but it's too risky." After voicing his thoughts, Lovino glared at the man, who looked like he was about to leave.
"We don't have a damn choice. He'll leave if we do nothing; we just have to risk it." Matthew didn't need another signal as he immediately made his way towards the man. Lovino and Feliciano followed a bit more slowly.
Matthew meowed and it was actually loud enough to get the man's attention. He looked down at Matthew and crouched down with a smile. Matthew tried not to flinch as the man softly pet his head, but eventually began purring into the touch. He had to earn the other's trust, whether he really wanted to or not. By now the other two cats were close enough that the man noticed them as well.
"Hello there. I don't think I've seen you three little ones around here before. Are you lost? You're too clean to be strays..." Matthew noted the thick British accent that came with the man's words. It was then that the man seemed to pause and look more closely at Matthew.
"Wait. Have I seen you bef-"
"BIRDY!" A shout from nearby caused all four individuals to stiffen, each having their own reasons. It only took a second for Gilbert to appear before he spotted the cats. He was about to run to his cat when he noticed who it was they were by. He looked like he was about to speak when two more people appeared behind him, each taking in the situation.
"Arthur…" Antonio hissed with malice clear in his voice. Lovino immediately backed away from the man who he knew his owner hated. But he had a hard time believing that this was the person Antonio hated.
"Hello old chap. Are these three your cats?" He motioned to the felines at his feet before he simply crossed his arms and glared at the Spaniard.
During this exchange, Ludwig had crouched down and motioned for Feliciano to come over to him. The cat did so, looking hesitantly at his brother who nodded in permission. Lovino was planning to go back to Antonio, but Matthew needed his support at the moment, and he was willing to give it. As the humans continued to stare each other down, Arthur finally gave in with a sigh.
"I'm not in the mood for this right now. Perhaps we can settle this later." The Brit turned around, but Matthew panicked. He latched onto the other's leg, forgetting that he had a sharp set of claws at the end of his paws.
Arthur gave a small squeak of pain before trying to shake the cat off of his leg. Gilbert ran over quickly and after some struggle, he managed to pry his cat off. The Brit spit out some profanities at both the cat and its owner before trying to stomp off. He was stopped by a strong grip around his wrist. Antonio had used the chaos as a veil to approach the other. Two pairs of green eyes were staring at each other viciously before Antonio finally spoke.
"Why?" He hid his eyes under his brown bangs, but it seemed that Arthur already knew what he was going to ask as he turned away from him. "Why what?"
"Why didn't you show up at his funeral! He was your cousin, por amor de dios!" Antonio was glaring once again, but there was a mix of hurt and anger in his eyes.
"You don't think I wanted to you bloody git! I didn't even hear about it until after the damn funeral!" Arthur wrenched his hand out of the others grip and stormed off. Antonio watched as the other disappeared and didn't turn away until Lovino rubbed against his ankles.
"Ah, Tomate. Sorry you had to see that mi gatita." He crouched down and Lovino took the opportunity to jump onto the other's shoulder like he normally did. The Spaniard turned back to the two Germans who were watching him closely.
"That's why you're mad at him huh? You could've told us." Gilbert said with a sad grin.
"It's nothing really. I'll deal with it later. Weren't we supposed to be having an outing? This is supposed to cheer us up, so let's head back and find a nice spot, si?" Ludwig offered a small smile and Gilbert's characteristic grin returned to his face.
"Well then let's go! I know the most amazing spot, perfect for someone as awesome as I am!"
I admit this isn't my favorite chapter just because it moves at a pretty quick pace. And if you haven't guessed by now, yes Francis died in this fic. I spent quite a while deciding whether I should actually do it or not. It's not because I dislike him or anything like that, but I needed an event to link everyone together and help with both story and character development. I'm sorry to all those Francis fans out there :(
I also feel like I made Mattie really polite in this. Just in the way he talks. It's just that all the Canadian people I have met (my dad works in Canada, so we visit) are really SUPER POLITE. Quite different than most people around me in the States. XD