Oh, look, a new updating schedule. Let's try every Friday because school just got hetic. (As if it never was.)
Feliciano was reading Alice in Wonderland when he felt the car drift slowly off the road. He glanced up, eyes widening when he saw the road fade to dirt. "Lovino?" Trees started to grow closer to the edge of the road, and if they didn't stop... "Lovi!"
The brakes were slammed, the tires screeching for a grip in the soft ground. Feliciano covered his face, tensing up for the supposed crash. When he was positive that he wasn't compacted into bones, Feliciano looked up. He sighed with relief, looking over at Lovino, whose hands were gripped tightly around the wheel. "Lovi?"
"I'm fine," he said, loosening his grip.
"You're tired. You need to rest."
"I said I'm fine."
"Lovino." The older Italian sighed.
"Fine. But I'm not trusting you to drive." The two got out of the car and sat in the backseat, moving the gun case and duffle bag out of the way. Feliciano curled up against Lovino, sighing happily as he felt his brother's arms wrap around him. "Want me to tell you another story?"
"No. I just want you to rest." Feliciano nuzzled Lovino's neck, sighing again. Lovino gently pulled his fingers through Feliciano's hair, tugging through small knots. "You scared me when we were drifting."
"I'm sorry. I had closed my eyes for a second. Guess I dozed off." He pressed his lips to Feli's head. "I'll be careful, I promise."
"Mio fratello," Feliciano mumbled. Lovino smiled, running his hand down Feliciano's back, stopping at his waist. He closed his eyes with a sigh, falling asleep with ease. Feliciano stayed awake, watching the clouds pass by. He traced the outlines of Lovino's veins in his arm, humming quietly. He hadn't been about the story. It was really sweet, but it had him wondering.
Feliciano had listened enough times to Sex Ed to know it wasn't possible for his birthday to be so close to his brother's. A little as two months, or maybe three, would've made sense, but being born a year later was weird. There wouldn't be enough time for his mother to have him after Lovino. And yet just two weeks after Lovino's first birthday, he was born. How? That couldn't be possible! Wait, no, maybe it could...
Feliciano groaned, covering his eyes. It was too much to think about, and it made him a bit nauseous. He looked up at Lovino, resting his head on his brother's arm. The thought of not actually being related to Lovino scared him. He knew he was overthinking things - okay, so maybe not being Lovino's brother was a bit too far - but he really wanted reassurance on this.
"I'll ask him when he wakes up," Feliciano mumbled. He tried to go to sleep, but it was impossible. Finally he gave up and decided to sit outside. Feliciano sat up up and slowly opened the door, trying not to wake Lovino. He stumbled out, grabbing a water bottle. Sitting on the trunk of the car, Feliciano stared up at the sky, sipping the water.
He took a deep breath, letting the air fill his lungs. It was quiet, no cars passing on the road. "It's so pretty," he murmured. "Almost as if everything is okay." Feliciano sighed, rubbing his eyes. After sitting in the silence for a few minutes, he started to grow tense. Feliciano looked around, sliding off the trunk. "Hello?" He took a step forward, onto the road. "Is there anyone there?"
There was the cock of a gun, and Feliciano felt the cold metal pressed against the back of his head. "Any weapons?" asked an unfamiliar voice. Feliciano slowly shook his head, eyes wide with terror. The voice had an Ukrainian accent, thick and intimidating, but also feminine. "Turn around," ordered the voice. "Don't try anything." Feliciano obeyed, biting his lip.
He came face to face with a tall woman with short blonde hair and stone cold blue eyes. She wore a white shirt tucked into her jeans, and tied to her waist was a dark blue bow. "Is that your car?" Feliciano's eyes cut to the Impala, trying to figure out a way to alert Lovino without putting the both of them in danger. "Answer me!" He gulped and nodded, trembling. "Are you alone?" Feliciano didn't dare answer. "I said," The woman pressed the gun closer to Feliciano's head. "Are you alone?"
"How about you turn around and see?" The woman whipped around, but Lovino grabbed her arms, twisting them around her back. She let out a yelp, trying to get away from his hold. "Drop the gun," he growled. "Right now." She did, and Lovino kicked it toward Feliciano, who picked it up with shaking hands. "Next time you want to stick a gun in someone's face, check your surroundings."
"Let go of me!" she hissed, trying to yank away. Lovino tightened his grip.
"Shut up. You'll attract every last one of those biters."
"Brother! Brother, help!" Lovino covered the woman's mouth, pulling her to the car. Feliciano was about to follow, when something caught his eye, off to the right.
"Lovi, watch out!" Lovino let the woman go and ducked as a man stepped into view, shooting at the Italian. The woman ran to the man's side with a huff.
"It took you long enough," she said, turning to the two brothers.
"It was difficult to cut, da?" spoke the man. He had pale blond hair and eyes dark enough to be purple. While the woman had an accent that had her speaking in high notes, the man had a Russian accent, sending shivers down the Vargas brothers' spines. He wore a tan coat with a white scarf that trailed to the ground.
"He had almost shot me."
"I can tell. Now we shoot them." Lovino stepped over to Feliciano, grabbing his hand.
"Not both, though," said the woman. "Just one. So the other can suffer." Feliciano hid behind Lovino, utterly terrified. There was no way they could outrun the strangers, and if they shot, there was a chance they would miss.
"The little one?"
"The big one. He seems to be the protection." The woman walked over and grabbed Feliciano, yanking him away.
"Let go of my brother!" Lovino stepped over, but the woman grabbed the gun out of Feliciano's hand, pointing it at his head.
"One move and he's gone. Drop your gun."
"Lovino..." Feliciano wanted to run to his brother, but the gun pressed against his temple stopped him. Lovino gritted his teeth and tossed the gun down.
"Just look away, Feliciano. Everything will be okay." Feliciano's eyes widened. Was his brother actually giving up?
"No! Please, don't do this!" Feliciano turned to the woman with wide eyes. "Please, I'm begging you! Leave my brother alone! I don't want to lose him!"
"Raina, shut him up," the Russian barked. Raina glared at Feliciano.
"Listen, kid, if you want to live, keep your mouth shut."
"I don't want to live if I don't have my fratello!"
"Feli, keep quiet!" Lovino shouted. "You'll be fine!"
"No I won't! You're all I have left! If I lost you, I'd...I'd..." Feliciano broke down. He crumpled to the ground, crying. His heart pounded loudly in his chest. He didn't want to lose Lovino. He'd be completely lost. Lovino ran over, kneeling down and hugging Feliciano, trying to calm him down.
"Ivan..." Raina said something to her brother in a different language, to which he replied with an angry sentence.
"It's okay, Feli. Don't cry." Feliciano buried his face in Lovino's shoulder, sobbing.
"Don't. Don't go. Please, don't go."
"I won't, I promise." Raina glared at Ivan, gesturing at the two.
"We can't take away his life." Ivan opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. "Look at him. He cares for his little brother. You can't do that. What would Natalya say?" Ivan fell silent, dropping his gun. He walked over to Lovino, who instinctively held Feliciano closer.
"My sister is right. We won't kill you. It's not what our sister would have wanted."
"What happened to her?" whispered Feliciano, looking up.
"We let Natalya wander off. She didn't return for a while, not even when hell broke loose. Raina...found her body last night." Ivan closed his eyes with a sigh before opening them again. "You are the older brother, da?" Lovino nodded, standing with Feliciano. Ivan looked over to Feliciano, who again hid behind his older brother. "Take care of your brother. Don't let him go a day without being loved."
"I won't," Lovino said. Ivan nodded and turned away, picking up his gun. He and Raina waved goodbye before disappearing into the trees. Lovino turned to his brother. "Are you okay?" Feliciano hugged him tightly.
"Yeah...Lovino..."
"It's okay. You're okay." They went back to the car, Lovino getting into the driver's seat. Feliciano sat in the passenger's seat, rubbing the locket around his neck.
"Lovi?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't want you to go."
"I won't go anywhere, Feli. I promise I'll protect you." Feliciano took his brother's hand, relaxing slightly. "Ti amo, fratello."
"Ti amo, Lovino."
Lovino was still holding onto Feliciano's hand as he drove. Feliciano had his eyes closed, dozing peacefully, when the car lurched. He opened his eyes lazily with a moan. "What the hell?" Lovino let go of Feliciano's hand and placed it on the wheel. The car lurched again, this time causing the two to lurch with it.
"Is something wrong?" asked Feliciano, suddenly worried.
"There shouldn't be," answered Lovino, trying to accelerate. With a cough and a sputter, the car stopped moving. "No...No, no, no!" Lovino got out of the car, turning around to Feliciano to say "Stay in the car." He closed the door and went to the front of the Impala, lifting the hood. He checked the engine, his eyes scanning across the oiled rods and wires. Nothing was out of place.
Confused, Lovino closed the hood, when something caught his eye. He knelt down, looking under the car.
There. That was the problem. A steady trickle of gasoline was pouring from a tube - a cut tube. The sharp scent of gas hit Lovino, and he had to stand up. He was furious. There was no way the tube could have been cut back in the town! They were fine earlier! Then who...
"Lovino?" The Italian huffed, glaring at Feliciano in the car. The younger brother frowned, his hand on the handle of the car door. "What's wrong?"
"Our gas is cut," growled Lovino.
"What? How?"
"My guess would have to be on those two we met not too long ago. That guy must have snipped it while the girl had us busy."
"What will we do now?" Lovino bit his lip. This set back his plan for about a week.
"We'll have to walk," Lovino said. He expected Feliciano to whine, or even protest a bit, but his brother surprised him. Feliciano got out of the car, going to the back and grabbing the duffle bag without a word. Lovino got the gun case, closing the door.
"So goodbye car?" asked Feliciano. Lovino nodded. "Arrivederci, then, Impala." Feliciano smiled a bit. Lovino wrapped his arm around Feliciano's waist, holding him close with a smile.
"Who knows? One day we might be able to come back around and get it." Feliciano laughed.
"Fratello, you know that's impossible."
"Oh?"
"Yeah." The two began to walk, a gun in Lovino's hand, a book in Feliciano's. "Everything we leave behind right now, we leave for good. And...we might be able to get new ones, like a new house, a new car, a new life. But they won't replace our old memories." Lovino kissed Feliciano's temple, sighing softly as he remembered his little brother wasn't so little.
"I know, I know. But still, false hope is better than dreaded doom."
"I suppose that's true. I'm still going to miss our home." Feliciano rested his head against Lovino's shoulder.
"Home is where the heart is, you know."
"Lovino, that is really sweet, too sweet for you!"
"Ah, shut it, you idiota." Feliciano laughed, and Lovino swore that it was the best thing to ever hear. It proved that, no matter what happened, they would still have even a bit of happiness between the two of them. And Lovino wouldn't trade that for the world.