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 for all your feedback from last time! I swear these chapters just keep growing…The draft for this one was fairly small, but then characters got chatty…sigh. Please let me know if the size of these is ever too long for you guys and I'll see what I can do about splitting the chapters up to make them a little shorter.
Just to clear up any confusion ahead of time, Theo is my made-up human name for Cyprus.
oOo
Matthew was seriously considering shoving nothing short of bee's wax and rubber cement in his ears.
For the last twenty minutes he'd endured his obnoxious brother alternate between shoving food in his mouth and lecturing him about dating Gilbert. He thought joining Alfred at McDonalds would make him happier, but no amount of hamburgers and French fries were enough to convince his twin brother that dating the albino was a good idea. Matthew shifted uncomfortably in the booth they were occupying. The cheap vinyl upholstery was doing nothing to make him feel better as the springs beneath it felt like they would break through and impale him at any moment. Even the greasy air was starting to make him feel a little queasy. Good brother or not, Matthew was at the end of his rope.
"And he squints too much when he talks!" Alfred took a long slurp of his soda. "You ever notice that? You can't trust a guy who squints that much."
"Alfred!" his brother sighed, exasperated.
"Yeah?" he munched on a handful of fries.
"You are my brother and you're important to me, but you're not the boss of me," Matthew explained carefully.
"But you're not thinking clearly, Mattie!" Alfred explained. "If I don't look out for you, who will?"
"Mom will and she wouldn't have a problem with Gilbert and I dating."
"She wouldn't have a problem with you dating one of the biggest 'trouble-makers' at school?" the taller blonde used a phrase their mother was fond of. Ironically, it was a phrase she often used to describe her own sons.
"Alleged trouble-maker," Matthew waved off the accusation. "Nobody can actually prove it was him."
"That doesn't matter!" Alfred nearly tossed his remaining fries at his twin. "There's no way she'd be cool with this!"
Matthew mentally counted to ten. Alfred was family and he loved him dearly, but there were days he wanted to beat him to death with a hockey stick…this was one of those days. Why was it that Alfred could see the good in everyone until they got close to his family? It was as if the very second an outsider crossed the 'just friends' line, Alfred would go all overprotective brother/son on the situation. He'd probably be able to find good traits in a serial killer, invite him over for video games and ice cream, and not complain one bit unless their friendly neighborhood serial killer expressed some form of interest in a member of their family.
"Are you sure?" Matthew crossed his arms calmly. "She seemed fine at the dinner we had last week."
"Y…You had him over for dinner?"
Normally the more timid of the twins would let his brother down easy, but not this time. Gilbert had been nothing short of a savior for the half-Canadian. He'd helped him out of a difficult situation and made Matthew feel important for a change. Sure he might be loud and mischievous, but he could also be very kind under all that bravado. There was no way Matthew was going to let Alfred off the hook for bad-mouthing him. He was going to hit him where it hurt…his stomach.
"We did. For hamburger casserole and tater tots."
"N-No! You can't!" Alfred was nearly bowled over by this. "You wouldn't…Traitor!"
"You're being such a child about this, Al…"
"I am not!" the blonde pouted…like a child.
"Okay, Al. Fine," Matthew rolled his eyes, sarcasm in his voice. "We'll break up, but I'll need someone else to date…"
"Like who?" his brother responded, falling right into his trap.
"Hmm…someone with spunk like Gil…maybe Lovino?"
Alfred was speechless for one of the few times in his life. The French fries he had been holding slipped between his frozen fingers and landed on the tray below. He tried to stammer out a response, but couldn't put any words together in his defense. Why was Matthew suddenly interested in his friend? He couldn't just date Lovino! There were rules! There were procedures! There was…there was him! He didn't want just anyone to date his best friend! It was hard enough to watch just anyone hug Lovino! (Another point taken away from Gilbert in Alfred's eyes).
Matthew took one look at the mix of terror and disbelief running across his brother's face and felt his grin widen. Alfred's wings were blasting out fearful yellow, intense red, and a hint of jealous green. While he normally didn't like to play with other's emotions like this, Alfred had it coming.
"Yes, I think he'd do nicely," Matthew nodded, desperately trying not to let a single chuckle escape his lips. "You'll help me ask him out, won't you?"
"You can't date Lovino!" Alfred finally found his voice.
"He's single. Why not?"
"Y-You just can't!"
"Alright, I won't date your friend…" Matthew shrugged, noting the violet-colored relief flooding throughout Alfred's wingspan. Sure, it never was a legit threat, but he wasn't about to tell his brother that. "But in exchange, I want you to give Gilbert a chance…"
"But—"
"You don't have to like him right away or even at all, but you do have to get to know him before you judge him," Matthew looked Alfred straight in the eyes. "He's very important to me and as my brother, you should respect that. No matter how much you want to play the hero and keep what's left of our family safe and happy, you need to understand that Gilbert makes me very happy."
"Ugh…fine," Alfred mumbled. He still didn't like the idea of Gilbert taking advantage of his innocent, easily-romantically-swayed brother, but didn't want to fight with Matthew over it any more. Especially if Matthew's solution involved dating Lovino…because nobody was allowed to date Lovino without his say-so. Best friends had to look out for each other, right? Right!
"Honestly, Al…if you spent half the energy on Student Council work that you do on butting into other's people's business, World Academy would be a paradise on earth."
Alfred took that to heart the next very day.
oOo
In order to keep his mind off of all the hand-holding and gross googly eyes his brother and the albino were making at each other, Alfred threw himself into his studies and Presidential work right away. It would be a nice distraction as well as a way to start thanking people for believing in him as the new Student Council President.
He started out the morning by greeting students at the gates with a table full of free coffee and the chance to look at pictures of the red panda family (nothing says 'thank you' like shots of caffeine and adorable, fluffy things). Alfred told them all how they had been discovered in the gardens to avoid lying about how the investigation team really found them and used some slightly…underhanded methods to ensure their safety. It wasn't that Alfred was a bad liar (after he'd learned as a child that not everything could be blamed on his imaginary alien friend Tony), he just valued honesty and didn't want to be one of those politicians. Students were excited about the red pandas and encouraged Alfred to make them mascots of some kind. The blonde beamed. He had heard that keeping a positive public face was the hardest part of any kind of presidency, but he always enjoyed interacting with others. How was he supposed to help people if he didn't see them at all?
It also took his mind off of the argument he had with his brother the night before.
By his lunch period, Alfred managed to finish all his homework, broke three of the school's weight-lifting records in Phy. Ed., studied for his upcoming algebra quiz, and even helped Lily clean all of the red panda kennels. He was a little tired out by the time he took the fuzzy mascots down to the Inner Garden for their lunchtime walk, but not tired enough to complain to Lovino about it.
Too bad the Italian was having none of that drama.
"Seriously, bastard, there's nothing serious about hand-holding," Lovino tossed another pair of grapes to the two red pandas by his feet.
"But just look at him!" Alfred tossed his hands up, flopping besides Lovino on the bench. "He's getting his slimy germs all over Mattie's hand!"
"…That I won't argue," Lovino snickered, breaking off another grape when the panda cubs started nuzzling his leg.
"Then it is a big deal!"
"No, it isn't," the Italian sighed. "People do it all the time."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Alright…" said Alfred, carefully considering what his friend had told him. "Then you hold my hand on the way back to the Biology room!"
"What?!" the tsundere felt his face heat up. "Why?"
"If it's not a big deal, then prove it by holding my hand."
"I realize you were probably dropped on your head as a child, but this is stupid, even by your standards."
Lovino didn't want to hold the idiot's hand! That would all but shatter his low exposure. Just walking around the school near Alfred was like carrying a neon sign that said 'LOOK AT ME' with a giant blinking arrow. Holding his hand would be like going on parade with noisy music, large floats, and…and elephants!
Plus, the whole thing would be incredibly embarrassing…
"Then you have to help me get them to stop with all the hand-holding!"
Lovino sighed. He mentally worked out which option would be less of a stab at his low exposure, before scooping up a panda cub and extending his hand towards the blonde.
"Let's get this over with…"
Alfred could feel his chest swell with pride as he got to march down the hallway with his best friend by his side, holding his hand. It was only awkward at first when the third red panda couldn't decide which boy to snuggle up to (the other two cubs being held in Alfred and Lovino's spare arm). Life was good after she curled up around Lovino's neck like a furry, purring scarf. Or at least it was for Alfred. Lovino swore up and down that the reason he turned bright red was all the body heat pouring off his little panda scarf.
"S-See, bastard?" Lovino tried to make conversation to make the whole situation less humiliating. "It's not a big deal at all."
"Maybe, but this is nice," Alfred happily swung their entwined hands back and forth.
"I-Idiota…"
Eventually, the conversation returned to the red pandas snuggling up to the boys. Alfred was insisting they only solved the Case of the Kitchen Bandits because of Lovino's mad deduction skills. The flustered tsundere insisted it was so obvious at that point that even Feli and the potato bastard could have figured it out.
"I still think you're a great detective!" Alfred flashed his friend a smile that lit up the entire hallway. "We could call you 'L' like in Death Note…but your name actually starts with an 'L' and that would kind of give it away, so maybe not…"
"…Are you even speaking English anymore, bastard?"
Lovino continued to endure the questioning, curious, and downright evil looks the other passing students sent him until they got closer to the Student Council room. While the red panda family's kennels were in the Biology room, they had been making a home in the large meeting room too. It was there they ran into Kiku. It only took him less than a fraction of a second to realize the sight before him wasn't a dream and even less time to pull a camera out from thin air. The SHIP member got a few snaps in, before Lovino's angry outburst led him to pull his hand away and his panda-scarf to leap to Alfred's head instead.
Alfred used his free hand to wave to Kiku. As he brought it down, he noticed how empty it felt without Lovino holding it. He started to miss the warmth his friend provided. Even holding the cute little red pandas couldn't quite compare.
"Hey, Lovino!" the Hero called out, interrupting the one-sided shouting match Lovino was having with Kiku about deleting those embarrassing photos. "We should hold hands on the way back to class too!"
"Forget it, bastard!" the tsundere stomped away. "Chigi!"
oOo
Lovino didn't make it very far before the trouble set in. He had been expecting one of Alfred's crazy fans to start making death threats or trying to shove him out a window, but it ended up being Sadik and Theo. Lovino could never remember how they were related…step-brothers or cousins maybe? Judging by the look on Sadik's face, that should be the last thing on his mind. He didn't know it, but the Turkish senior was angry that his Japanese friend was spending more time with the Student Council than him (especially after boasting about their inherent bro-ness to Heracles). Of course targeting the other members of the Student Council would be difficult, so Sadik went after the Iris Zero who everybody hated. He was confident. Even teachers looked the other way when people bullied the walking curse that was Lovino Vargas.
He'd show him what happened when people moved in on his territory.
Lovino glanced around at his surroundings in the time it took him to face the bullies. The boy's bathroom was otherwise deserted and seemingly soundproof with all the noise of students on their way to class in the hallway. This meant no witnesses or backup…not that he normally had backup…but still worth noting. Nothing within arm's reach could help him and the floor was dry, so Lovino couldn't use it to his advantage and make the other literally slip-up. The Italian knew this could potentially end badly for him, so he tried to stay calm. Sadik was angry about something…nothing new. Theo may have only been there by association with his older family member, but that same loyalty made him dangerous too. Lovino could feel the hair on the back of his neck rise.
"Hello, Iris Zero…" the Turk flashed a toothy grin. "What a coincidence meeting you here…"
Dammit…Sadik is built like a fucking tank… Lovino thought angrily. The only thing bigger than this asshole's biceps is his damn ego…Wait, that's it!
Lovino forced a smile, gave Sadik a once over, and made eye contact with Theo, who seemed confused by the action. Did the Italian not see the hulking mass of destruction cracking his knuckles at him? Most people would be begging for their life by this point.
"I think I have to disagree with what you said earlier, Theo…Sadik's muscles aren't small!"
"You said what?" the Turk growled to the boy beside him.
"I didn't say that!"
"And Sadik's mask isn't girly at all, Theo," Lovino spoke carefully, trying to sound genuine.
"What?!"
"He's lying!" Theo's eyes widened in fear. "You know I would never—"
Based on their reactions, the Italian was relatively certain they weren't brothers, or at least blood-related brothers. He could use this. Lovino met Theo's gaze again and gestured to Sadik.
"But hey, I'd probably say the same thing if somebody said what he did about my mother…"
"What'd you say about my mother?!" Theo shouted back to the Turk.
"I never said anything about your mom!"
Lovino took the opportunity to bail while they argued with each other. It might have been the coward's way out to run away, but he was a sucker for options that didn't end with black eyes or toilet bowls. Alfred could be the hero. Lovino would be the survivor.
oOo
Roderich had been complaining to everyone on the Student Council about their 'esteemed council room' becoming a 'zoo' with its most recent red panda editions. Normally, Alfred shut him up, but had to admit it wouldn't be a good idea to freak them out with forty or so people in the room during the monthly meeting with all the classroom reps. Luckily, Lily had agreed to take them to the Biology room for the afternoon. Alfred had been trying to come up with names for them all – a mom, two girls, and one boy.
"The boy should be 'Lovino' since you helped save them," the blonde pointed out to his friend.
"I didn't save them, Lily and her brother did," the tsundere glanced up from his book. "I just led us to Lily."
"Okay…'Lovi' it is, then!"
Lovino hissed at him and went back to attempting to study, which he learned was all but impossible when his American friend was around.
"Should I name one of the girls 'Lovi' then?" Alfred grinned.
That earned him a sharp kick under the table and the subject was dropped.
For the last fifteen minutes or so, the duo had been bumming around the library, waiting for the Class Rep meeting to start. Lovino had no interest in waiting in the crowded meeting room and Alfred wanted to make sure his buddy showed up. Letting the spunky brunette return to his psychology book, Alfred messed around on his phone.
"Lovi, look! I found a 'What Is Your Werewolf Name?' quiz that looks cool!" the American informed him.
"Good for you…"
"We should try it."
"No, it sounds dumb."
"Aw, c'mon, I use the term 'quiz' loosely," pouted Alfred. "It's just the first letter of your first and last name."
"Dumb."
"Well, unfortunately for you, I know your first and last name!" Alfred stuck his tongue out at his friend. "Let's see…you would be…Wild Fire. Heh. That's actually fitting."
"S-Shut up, bastard!" Lovino slammed his book on the table. "If it's so accurate, what would your name be?"
"Hm, lemme check…" his eyes widened. "Oh, there is no freaking way! This thing is bogus!"
"What is it?" Lovino asked, suddenly interested.
"My name is frickin' Moon Moon!" Alfred let out an outraged cry.
Lovino burst into laughter.
"This has to be a mistake!"
"No, you were right!" the Italian wiped tears from his eyes. "It's completely accurate!"
"It's not that funny!" the blonde was starting to feel defensive. His friend kept on howling with laughter, ignoring all attempts on Alfred's part to get him to stop.
"You'd be the most idiotic werewolf ever!"
"I would not!"
Lovino did his best imitation of a werewolf, by lowering his voice and making it raspy.
"Ready to go, guys? Oh, shit! Who brought fucking Moon Moon?" he laughed again.
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying this," Alfred frowned.
"Bastard, I am treasuring this!"
"If you're done laughing, we're going to be late to the Class Rep meeting."
"What?!" Lovino jumped to his feet and checked the time. If they were late, he just knew he'd get blamed.
"I tried to tell you earlier, but you were busy rolling around the floor laughing hysterically," the President pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You still should have said something!"
"I did!"
"Dammit, Moon Moon!"
…And the laughter started all over again.
oOo
The duo somehow managed to make it to the Student Council room a few minutes to spare. Alfred strolled past his piranha tank, waving to his babies. He was a little annoyed people had moved it aside again. How could people admire his cool fish if they were shoved in the corner like this? He'd have to move them back once the meeting was over. Again.
Lovino took a seat next to his brother and eagerly showed him the Werewolf Name chart. Feliciano (or Majestic Fire as his pack would call him) was entertained enough by that, but burst out laughing when Lovi pointed out Alfred's name. This caused Ludwig/Wild Stone to go over to settle the two Italians down to no avail. By the time Alfred broke it all up, half the student council and a good share of the classroom reps had seen it. Arthur Kirkland, better known as Moon Mystic to his packmates, finally stopped crying long enough to encourage his unfortunately named cousin to begin. Moon Moon reminded him that he had been for the last five minutes, but between him and Wild Fire's howling, no one could hear their Alpha...er, President.
At least they're getting along better… was all that Alfred thought sourly.
Alfred finally called the meeting to a start and went on with the boring business of going over old news and reminding people to sign in on the attendance sheet floating around somewhere. He was glad that Ludwig and Kiku were sitting to his right at the round table designated for the Student Council members. While speaking, he tried to focus on addressing them and the right side of the room because every time he glanced to his left or made eye contact with either tsundere, they'd start laughing again. Alfred could only roll his eyes (to think that they were the ones who called him a kid!) and try to carry on. This got easier as specific members had to give individual reports. Although he couldn't do it without a smirk, Arthur presented his summary of the current budget in a mostly mature fashion. The other speakers followed suit until Roderich took the stand.
Almost immediately, Roderich started mouthing off about Iris Zero myths being the reason his Music-Science Club Outreach Plan failed. He had planned for the two clubs to get together to work on some projects together to present at a resume-boosting conference next month. Eduard von Bock, the Science Club president had the ability to see ribbons on different business/club/random idea proposals on paper. The stamps measured the potential of popularity each idea had. Blue ribbons meant the plan had the potential to be very popular, red ribbons meant the plan would be relatively popular, yellow ribbons meant it would be kind of popular, and grey ribbons meant it wouldn't be popular at all.
"Had our school adopted a stricter policy of admittance, we wouldn't be in this predicament," the Austrian explained his twisted way of thinking. "Obviously Eduard's Iris began to fail him because of certain individuals occupying an area they shouldn't be allowed into. Had Eduard's Iris worked properly and without interference, we could have seen this coming and adjusted accordingly."
Lovino knew he had no right to talk (bullying being his own failed area of focus), but he wasn't one to let that stop him. It was obvious (at least to him) that Eduard had been 'wrong' because his Iris only measured popularity potential on paper. If the idiots carrying out the plan screwed things up, of course it would blow up in their faces.
"Shut up, Roderich," Lovino waved him off dismissively. "You'll lower the IQ of the entire school."
"What was that?" the senior challenged him.
"Give it a rest already, both of you," Arthur crossed his arms. "The Music-Science collaboration project fell apart because of last minute promotion and lack of participation. It had nothing to do with the fact that Lovino walked over three drains and failed to salute a magpie."
"How dare you!" Roderich was outraged. He knew Arthur liked to pick fights for the sake of picking fights, but this was ridiculous!
Before things got more complicated, Alfred adjusted his glasses and took over.
"Roderich, if you want to justify why your scientific project failed, I'll have to ask that you at least back it up with scientifically-proven excuses."
The meeting hall fell silent. Roderich stood there, mouth agape, sputtering for words like a fish out of water. Lovino sat opposite him, staring at Alfred, slight blush on his face. Had Alfred really just defended him in front of a room filled with people who hated his guts? Feli and Antonio quietly high-fived under the table and Arthur's face broke into a huge grin. Apparently all of those presidential etiquette lessons were paying off.
The rest of the meeting went off without a hitch, nobody daring to say anything to challenge Alfred's standpoint on Iris Zero superstitions.
oOo
When the meeting was over, the room cleared out quickly. Lovino took advantage of that and slowly walked over towards Alfred's chair. The blonde was preoccupied with collecting all of his papers, but perked up when he heard Lovino's footsteps.
"Can you believe how fast this meeting went?" he asked his friend excitedly. "It's not even 4:00! I hope they can all fly by this quickly! Now I have extra time to play my new Mario Kart game!"
"Er…yeah…"
"Did you want to swing by and play too?" Alfred offered with a wink. "I'll even let you be Yoshi."
"I'll pass, bastard…" Lovino furrowed his brow. He didn't even know what the hell a 'Yoshi' was. Some kind of food?
"Aw, some other time then…" The blonde seemed disappointed for a moment, then brightened. "Did you need help with something?"
"No…I just…" the tsundere didn't need a mirror to know his face was beet red. Why was it that talking to Alfred was easy, but thanking him was next to impossible? He felt like such an idiot for not being able to just say what was on his mind. Normally, that wasn't an issue…then again, normally he was being angry, sarcastic, or a combination of the two. He wanted to do this right.
"You feeling okay, 'Vino? You look a little feverish…" Alfred abandoned his paperwork to press a hand to his friend's forehead. This only succeeded in making Lovino's blush intensify and cause his heart to beat twice as fast. "…You feel a little warm too. Want me to take you to the Nurse's Office? I'm sure somebody's still there."
"No!" Lovino quickly snapped, brushing Alfred's hand off his forehead. "I-I just wanted to thank you for putting that Austrian prick in his place earlier!"
Before he lost the courage he managed to build up, the brunette hugged his friend. He knew he couldn't express himself with words, so he was hoping his actions could speak for him this time. Not being the huggy type himself, Lovino tried to trust in his knowledge that Alfred liked hugs. Sure, Lovino rarely hugged people himself, but he had been on the receiving end of countless hugs courtesy of his overly-happy brother and cousin. That had to count for something, right? He prayed he wouldn't screw this up somehow.
"Huh?" the other blinked his blue eyes in confusion. He was amazed that Lovino was hugging him. Alfred hadn't been expecting a spontaneous hug like that, but he was by no means complaining. "Of course! I'm the hero, remember? It's my job to stand up to others who oppress the weak!"
…Leave it to Alfred to kill the mood.
"Cazzo! Who the hell are you calling weak?!" the Italian pushed the American off him before any attempts at returning the hug could be made.
"I-I didn't mean you! I just meant…uh…" Alfred was at a loss for words. "He had gone too far and I didn't want you to be vulnerable to attack!"
"So now I'm vulnerable too, huh?!"
"No, that's not what I meant either!" the flustered hero tried and failed to explain his situation.
"Dammit, Moon Moon…" Lovino shoved the taller boy, slight pout forming on his face.
Alfred caught his footing quickly, wrapping an arm around the tsundere's shoulders.
"Easy, or you'll knock me over!" he joked.
"Cheh, that's the idea, bastard…" huffed the tsundere, who could have cared less that Alfred gave him an affectionate squeeze and smelled fresher than the garden after a summer's rain. He didn't even like the rain! It was only good for growing tomatoes and other fruits, vegetables, and spices which he needed to survive…Okay, maybe he did like the rain a little, but its usefulness didn't outweigh its annoyingness, dammit!
oOo
Alfred zipped up his considerably lighter than normal backpack and closed his locker. He felt pretty good about having less homework tonight, as he had other things on his mind. The amateur inventor put a priority on creating a device that erased 24 hours worth of memory from the intended target. He would then use it on the entire Student Council, starting with Arthur and Lovino, to make them all forget about that dreaded Werewolf quiz.
Hmm…but if I erase Lovino's memories of this afternoon to get rid of the whole 'Moon Moon' thing, he'd forget that he hugged me…
It was a real dilemma. This was the guy who had 99 problems and 86 of them were completely made-up scenarios that he would occasionally stress out over for no logical reason.
Being the good hero that he was, the Student Council President smiled at everyone he passed on his way down the long, single-tone tiled hallway. It was kind of a pain his locker was in the hallway that time forgot, with its drab walls and being prone to flickering lights. The blonde was just glad that he finally ruled out all the ghost stories about students who killed themselves during midterms in favor of poor electrical wiring. If his disagreeable cousins could agree on one thing, it was tormenting young, impressionable children.
The charismatic teen said goodbye to his friends on his way out of the building's main entrance. Once outside, he was met by a warm breeze, which made him grin. If he focused hard enough, he could pick up the faint scents of Cheetos, roses, and freshly-cut grass. He loved this kind of weather. The sun danced between the leaves of the large oak tree he walked under, as if to agree with him. Alfred smiled once more, stretching his arms heavenward.
"Now to go home and play video games for the rest of the day!"
He started to head home, running into his brother and cousin on the way.
"Hey, guys!" he jogged over to catch up with them.
"Hi, Al."
"Ugh, I just spent the last bloody hour putting up with you at school; don't make me have to deal with you on the walk home too…"
"What's the matter?" Alfred grinned. "You crash the company car or something?"
"Shut up, Moon Moon."
"…Moon Moon?" Matthew tilted his head. That was a new one.
"Oh, you have no idea…" Arthur's sour expression morphed into a huge grin.
Alfred groaned as Arthur explained it all to Loyal Hunter.
oOo
Lovino was pissed that he couldn't seem to do anything to cut down on the bullying problem at World Academy. He knew it wasn't just him they pick on either, but at least they've been leaving him alone more. His new rank and Student Council buddies have helped with that. Still…he wished there was more he could do. As he kicked a stone down the pavement of the long sidewalk in front of him, a red car pulled up beside him. The distinctively Latin beat on the radio gave away the driver before Lovino even saw his face.
"Hola, Lovi!" Antonio rolled down the window. "Want a ride home?"
Lovino reluctantly agreed, sliding into the passenger seat, and dropping his bag by his feet. He was in a bad mood and didn't feel like walking.
"What's got you looking so down?" Antonio asked, turning off the radio.
"Nothing, tomato bastard."
"Aw, you can tell me!" the Spaniard insisted, putting the car back into gear. "Family helps each other out, right?"
If I count 'Family' as just you and Feli, then yes.
"Loviiii…"
"Dammit! I'm not going to tell you if all you do is whine!" the younger of the cousins spat. He still hated the nickname, but long since gave up correcting his fratello and his cugino. The two didn't have enough brain cells collectively to understand that he didn't find it 'cute' to be called 'Lovi.'
Antonio quickly zipped his lips and patiently waited for Lovino to begin talking. Reluctantly, the Italian explained the situation. For as dense as cousin could be, Antonio was surprisingly observant when it came to people putting his family in danger. His Iris really did suit his protective nature.
"Hmm…It's good you're getting involved, but don't overdo it, si?"
"Aren't you usually the one trying to get me to do things?" Lovino arched an eyebrow.
"Maybe," Antonio laughed. "But sometimes it's better to take things easy."
"Whatever," Lovino huffed, as the small, black dog at his feet began to stir.
Antonio was relieved it was still so tiny and asleep. He hoped his cousin wouldn't do anything to wake it. After all, bad things happened when the Grim woke up.
oOo
A/N – I tried to tie in a couple different references to dogs for this chapter, but couldn't think of a good humor reference, so I surfed around the internet for a bit and came up with this gem. There is a crazy chart for determining your werewolf name based on your initials (and a person who was pissed s/he got "Moon Moon"), but I changed the letters and corresponding 'werewolf names' to better suit the characters.
I just really, really wanted Alfred to be Moon Moon XD
If you want a detailed explanation of Antonio's Iris, keep reading, otherwise I'll see you in the next chapter! It will be explained in full later on, but the gist of Antonio's Iris is that he sees the Grim (a supernatural-y black dog) hanging around people who will be exposed to danger in some way. He can tell how dangerous the situation will be by the size of the Grim (big danger equals big Grim) and he can determine roughly when the danger will happen based on the Grim's alertness. If the dog is asleep, it's far off. If the dog is awake, it will happen soon.
-Rajikka
Translations
Fratello – Brother (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.)
Stronzo – Bastard or Asshole (It.)
Theo – "God given" (Gk.) My made-up human name for Cyprus. Apparently, many kids in Cyprus are given Greek names (I would have guessed Turkish…shows how much I know.) Theo was one of the more common ones that I came across.
Walking over three drains and saluting magpies – British superstitions. Walking over three drains is bad luck and saluting magpies wards off bad luck.
Cazzo – Damn/Shit/Fuck/Generic Italian Swear Word, but actually roughly translates to "cock"
Hola – Hello (Sp.)
Si – Yes (Sp.)
Cugino – Cousin (It.)