Demure

Chapter 10: Afternoon

Bonus chapter for tonight, since I'll be busy with school and will have scarce amount of time to update…

Feliciano stirred his coffee, the afternoon breeze brushing across his face. The café he sat at smelled distinctly of coffee beans and strawberries. He looked up from his drink and stared at Lovino.

"Explain yourself." Feliciano demanded so coldly his words seemed to form icicles at the end of each syllable.

"Explain what?" Lovino demanded back, hotly, trying to melt the ice.

"What kind of sick person you are for knocking me, your brother, up."

"I told you for the billionth time I didn't fucking do it." Lovino gritted his teeth, fist clenched and sitting on the table.

"Oh yeah? Remember the night before you were to go on the trip, we had a party to get drunk and wish you a good journey?"

"Yeah, I ditched because I had a date."

"A date with me, isn't it? You even pretended to be all humble and shit to fuck me." Feliciano wasn't used to cursing so much, but it felt good. It felt irresponsible and dangerous.

Lovino snorted and shook his head, looking around at the café with a "can you believe this guy?" expression. The three men and two women on their laptops did not look up and the couple on their date frowned at Lovino, wondering why he was looking at them.

"No you idiot, with a nice chick and shit."

"A girl? Okay now you're lying."

"Yeah, yeah, but I was drunk already and I didn't wanna show up and fucking ruin your little reunion or whatever!"

Feliciano puffed his cheeks and blew out air, rolling his eyes. "Okay, okay, now why didn't you tell me you had Lung Cancer?"

"I didn't want to worry you. But I'm clean now, all better. And I'm sorry about Mia, by the way." Lovino added, then frowned. "How did you know I had Lung Cancer and why the fuck did you accuse me, ME, of all people? Answer these first." He said, gesturing for the perky waitress to refill his cup. She nodded and obliged.

"Well, so a few days ago, when Mia was at the doctor, I went to buy bread—she doesn't like me in the room with her—and saw Francis. He said he was sorry and all, and said that Lovino also had it."

"Fucker told you?" Lovino's jaw dropped and he shook his head in disbelief.

"You're my brother! You can tell me these things!" Feliciano beat the table with his fist, but cleared his throat and continued, "Anyway, I didn't think much of it except, you know, why the hell you didn't tell me. And then yesterday Ludwig brought up the hereditary aspect and I thought of you. Now I was drunk when I did it, but I remember the guy looked way too much like you. Dark hair, almost black in the dark of the night. I thought maybe it was Kiku, but when I went to see him, one thing became clear, the man I did it with, Mia's biological dad, had this big strong jaw." Feliciano traced his jaw line then pointed to Lovino, "A lot like yours. So I went back to thinking about you. I mean he spoke Italian, I think, and sounded a bit like you… He was out the same day you failed to show up… But then two things don't fall into place. One, he was nice."

Lovino wouldn't have taken it as an insult, but when your brother—a person especially who sees good in people—just lays it out for you like a gypsy laying out tarot cards, well, you realize you're an idiot and a blockhead, not to mention you're also an idiot. It hurt somewhere that was not quite his heart.

"Two, his house was way far from where you were. And if it wasn't his house, I mean there's no proof since there were no pictures or anything, then how would you have even gotten into there in the first place…" Feliciano suddenly felt very, very guilty.

"Yeah, smartass, now you realize it wasn't me. Hoorah."

"So did you shoot Kiku?"

"What the fuck, excuse me?"

"Did you shoot Kiku? Do you want me to yell it?"

"No I heard you, but how did you jump to that?"

"Well because you were close with Gilbert and knew where he kept his gun and this detective whatever guy claims he saw a dark haired guy."

"There's a lot of fucking dark haired guys in the world."

"Ah," Feliciano finished his coffee and watched the waitress give Lovino his cup. "You aren't denying it."

"Because, dick face," Lovino stood up, paying the waitress, "It's so stupidly stupid that denying it will only make me look even more stupid than you. And that's saying something!"

Feliciano shot up, his chair toppling behind him. The chatter and tapping of keyboards stopped abruptly around the café, even the waiters held their breath. "Excuse me? Is YOUR daughter going to die in a few years?"

"I know you're stressed and worried and messed up right now, but that doesn't give you a fucking excuse to point your fat finger at anyone who matches your vague ideas! Get an actual detective! All you've ever been good at is drawing and being a complete dumb ass!" With each sentence Lovino was growing louder, but not quite bellowing.

"At least I didn't fucking fail Spanish!" Feliciano shot back, leaning forward, "And at least I didn't fall in love with my fucking Spanish teacher!"

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SPANISH OR ANTONIO!" Okay, now Lovino was bellowing. Also, he was slamming his open palms against the table, sending the cups jittering in their plates. The waitress watched nervously, holding Lovino's credit card close to her breast. "WHAT THIS DOES HAVE TO DO WITH IS YOU PRETENDING TO BE SHERLOCK WHEN YOU'RE ONLY THE GODDAMN DOG!"

Feliciano winced, but didn't cry. He'd cried enough. Then, after a sudden and dark silence, the supernova happened. "WELL MR. SMARTASS BASTARD WHO NEVER GOT ALONG WITH SOMEONE I LOVED, WHO BY THE FUCKING BYE HAD NOTHING, ZERO, ZIP TO DO WITH YOU AND YOUR CHOICES. YOU PICKED ON ME BECAUSE SOMEONE I LOVE LOVED ME BACK. BECAUSE I DIDN'T GO FUCKING CLUELESS GIRLS BECAUSE I WAS ANGRY, BECAUSE I AM SUCESSFUL."

Somehow watching Feliciano explode made Lovino cool his temperature several minor degrees. "I hardly call a failing relationship with everyone you know and a dying girl successful." He said, and instantly regretted it.

He felt he deserved the hard smack across his face.

Feliciano's palm was as red as Lovino's cheek, which he rubbed softly.

"I'm sorry." Lovino murmured, taking his credit card and booking it. The waitress took a step back, biting the ends of her blonde hair nervously.

Panting, Feliciano looked at her, apologized, and sprinted after Lovino.

"WAIT." He called, waving a hand. Lovino stopped. In the middle of the street. "I'm sorr—WATCH OUT FOR THAT BUS."

"Wha—" The pedestrian crossing sign had clicked off ten seconds prior to him getting on the road, blinded by tears and fury.

Everything felt as though it were in slow motion. Lovino turned his head, and saw the headlights grow bigger along with the truck pummeling at full speed, trying to break. In that moment Lovino understood why rabbits and deer stop in the middle of the road.

It's because they're too scared to do anything else.

He felt his legs slip from under him, heard something crack and some hard surface meet a soft surface. Red burned before his eyes and he thought the ground was coming awful fast to hit him. His head started to hurt.

And then, it was black.