Chapter 11: The Brothers


Tossing and turning until he was wrapped up like a cocoon by impossibly itchy sheets, Feliciano flopped back onto the mattress and let out a groan.

It wasn't even hot, he thought, attempting to twist himself free. The Jack let out a squeal in surprise when he accidentally threw himself from the mattress, sheets following after him to pile atop him.

"Feli, what are you doing?" A whisper asked, hinted with both annoyance and amusement.

Shooting upright, Feliciano stared wide eyed at the adjoining doorway between his room and Lovino's. He beamed when he saw his brother staring at him, a candle sheltered behind a hand. "I couldn't sleep, brother! And then I accidentally…"

"Never mind what you did accidentally. Get up and fix your sheets or I'm going back to my room." Lovino struggled to repress a smile at the sudden giddiness to overtake Feliciano. As Feliciano worked to reposition the cotton across his mattress, Lovino walked over to the windowsill, peering outside with a scrunched up face.

"Brother, it's all set!"

"Keep your voice down, Idiot." Sighing, Lovino blew out his candle. He walked over, crawling up onto the mattress before settling down beside his grinning fool of a brother already looking to latch onto his older twin.

Feliciano nuzzled his way beneath his brother's chin, hands curled up between them to cling to Lovino's sleep shirt. He was quick to frown when Lovino's chest heaved with a sigh. Looking up, he found the other staring at him sternly.

"Feliciano, you trust me right?" When Lovino reached out to brush his brother's bangs back, Feliciano flinched. His brother's voice carried the same weight as a disappointed mother. "Out of all the people in this castle, am I still the one you trust the most?"

"O-Of course!"

Lovino's look softened and Feliciano relaxed under the other's hand. "Then why won't you tell me what happened to you? You were about to spill it all to those Clubs monarchs, but you can't confide in me?"

"It's…It's not like that, Lovi," Feliciano squirmed, desperately trying to get closer to Lovino. He clutched tighter at the off-white silk covering his brother's torso. "I just, I promised them! I said I wouldn't tell anyone about what happened. They saved me!"

"It's alright," Lovino said softy, slowly petting his brother's hair back affectionately. "I'm just worried. The way you started talking about strangers in the forest made it seem like you went and sold your soul to a bog monster on accident or something." The eldest bit the inside of his mouth to keep from snorting at Feliciano's sudden horrified expression. "The way you described it, with this shadow man giving you some trinket… Who's to say he won't use that to find you again? You have to be careful with monsters out there; they're all shrouded in secrets. You never know when they might snatch you out of your bed."

Feliciano shook as he listened. Releasing Lovino's shirt, he quickly covered his eyes with a low whine. "Bu-but he would never… It wasn't like that! They wouldn't let him!"

"Who, Feli? Who wouldn't let him?"

Peaking through his fingers, Feliciano flinched under Lovino's demanding stare.

"Who?" He asked again, more urgent this time as he stopped and held the back of Feliciano's head. "Please don't make me worry, Feliciano."

"It was Gilbert!"

Lovino's hand shot back and he rushed to push himself away from Feliciano. The younger let out a cry and reached for Lovino, clinging to his shirt hem as Lovino stared at him, disbelief melting into anger behind his eyes.

"Please believe me, brother! He was there, he was!"

"Don't lie! He's dead!" Lovino hissed.

Lovino quickly looked around and narrowed his gaze at the door. His hand shot to cover Feliciano's mouth and he held his breath.

Slowly, almost painstakingly so, a candle light flickered past, casting shadows of the night's guard passing by under the crack of Feliciano's door.

His fingers slipped off of Feliciano's mouth when the light passed, and instantly his hand was gripped by both of Feliciano's. "Brother, please-"

"Shh!" Lovino's head snapped back to look at Feliciano. "Keep your fucking voice down or I'll shut you up again!"

"Ve, but now you're yelling…" Feliciano flinched back at Lovino's growl, scurrying to the corner of his mattress and holding a pillow before him.

Snorting, Lovino rolled his eyes. He drew his legs up, wrapping his arms around his knees as he turned to look at Feliciano. "…why would you say something like that? Did you hit your head harder in the woods than I thought?"

Feliciano quickly shook his head and dropped the pillow. He crawled closer to his brother, seeking contact with him once again. Lovino groaned, but he offered the other his hand anyways. It was quickly clutched by Feliciano.

"I wouldn't lie about this, brother. Honest!" Feliciano's voice dropped to a whisper. "He's out at the castle; he's one of the Jokers now."

"…was he your shadow man?" Lovino clicked his tongue. As Feliciano shook his head, Lovino directed a scowl away from the other. "How fucking selfish, doesn't he know what's happened here without him?"

"It's not like that, brother. I don't…I don't think he had a choice." Feliciano frowned, dropping his gaze. "He…didn't look like he wanted to be there by choice."

"I don't care. This whole story of yours, this shadow man," at that Lovino rolled his eyes. "You being at that place, around the Jokers… They were probably just playing a trick on you! I'd make you promise me you'd never go back but," He turned to Feliciano and sighed. "I know you when you get your fairy tales wrapped up in your head, so promise me this instead."

Holding a finger up, Lovino hardened his expression. "If you go back to the Wastes to find them again, bring a candle and some matches. Find out what this shadow man of yours looks like, and run, Feliciano. Run the second you find a monster."

Frowning, Feliciano held Lovino's hand close to his face. His brother made a slight noise at the other's affections but did not draw back. "I promise, Lovino. I'll be ok."

Suddenly, Feliciano gasped when Lovino yanked him close and roughly hugged him. They sat, crudely held together as Lovino pressed his face into Feliciano's shoulder.

The older's words went unspoken, Lovino too stubborn to say what he truly demanded from his brother and his reasoning why. Yet Feliciano smiled all the same and savored the moment until Lovino shoved him away gruffly.

"Now go to sleep!"

"Alright, Lovi~"