Chapter 24: Luciano Vargas

The next scene faded in, showing Feliciano wondering around a very pretty meadow. The clearing had flowers of all colors swaying gently in the early summer breeze, and the trees towered over the tiny nation, offering shade. Sunlight streamed down through the branches like beams of gold, touching the flowers and making them shimmer.

"Wow! This is beautiful~!" Hungary laughed, twirling around. She'd never seen such a place near Austria's house before!

"It was so nice of Mr. Austria to give me a day off." Feliciano muttered, coming out into the clearing. "Uwa~ So pretty! I'd love to paint some pictures here!" He grinned, twirling around much like Hungary had.

I smiled softly. This was our Meadow. Mine, and Acel's.

Feliciano ended up tiring himself out with his impromptu dancing, and he laid down in the flowers, splayed out to soak up the sunlight. This is such a pretty place. I wish I could show Fratello…

"H-hello?" A new voice, a little deeper than Feli's, called out. It sounded tentative, and unsure.

Feliciano sat up, surveying his surroundings. A light shimmer filled the air next to him, before forming into a near mirror image of the boy. He had fuchsia eyes and the same curl, though his hair was a shade or two darker than Feli's. He wore a maid's dress, as well, though it was a soft blue instead of green.

The transparent figure stared at Feliciano in surprise and suspicion. "Who the fuck are you?" He asked, making Feli chuckle.

"You sound like my brother." He smiled. "I'm Italy! Veneziano Italy! Nice to meet you!"

"What?! But I'm Veneziano Italy." The other one said. "Hold on… Are you… perhaps… my 1P?" He tilted his head.

"Oh! Wait, so you're my 2P?! That's fantastic! I've been wanting to meet you ever since Grandpa Rome told me about you… and…" Feliciano's expression dropped when he mentioned Rome, and so did his 2P's.

"My human name is Luciano. Luciano Vargas."

"Feliciano Vargas. I have a twin brother named Lovino."

"Really? My twin's name is Flavio. He's blonde, for whatever reason, and he's such an annoying piece of shit."

"That's not very nice! You shouldn't say such things about your brother! You're all you have, right? So be nicer." Feli lectured, crossing his arms.

"You're a weird one." Luciano's eyes narrowed like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. "Most people wouldn't talk to me that way."

"Well, I'm your brother, too, right? You're my 2P, and I'm your 1P, so it only makes sense." Feli explained.

"I've never thought of it that way."

"So tell me about yourself. What's your world like?" Feli asked. His eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Well… It sucks. There's war constantly, and a crap-ton of man-eating monsters. The air is growing more and more acidic by the decade, and there's even been talk of building Domes around the cities to keep fresh air in." He ranted, flopping down on the grass beside his 1P. "Plus, they've separated my brother and I, and I have no idea what to do. I mean, yeah we're immortal, but I'm worried... We've been through a lot and we've never been separated like this before."

"I know what you mean." Feli sighed. He explained about the situation with him and Lovino. "You said you'd been through a lot… Have you seen war?" He looked over to his 2P with wide eyes.

"No… Not like that. People here in this world… the humans know about us nations… We're monsters to them. Unnatural. Lavi and I haven't had it easy. We've been hunted down by our own people… bullied… murdered, even. If Grandfather Rome hadn't come along, we'd still be homeless, hiding in the back alleyways looking over our shoulders for the next attack." He closed his eyes as the nations digested what he'd said.

"I didn't know it was that bad." Romano breathed. "Flavio never said…"

"Can you blame him, fratello? The only reason Luciano told me was because I was the only brother he had back then. He and Flavio had been separated, and he was scared." I said, looking at Chibiciano with a fond smile. He was so adorable~!

"Sounds scary." Feliciano looked close to tears. He sat up and tried to give Luciano a hug, but he phased through him.

"AH! You're a ghost?!" He cried, startled.

"No, you idiot! I'm still in my world, you know. I think you're the only one who can see me, and vise versa. Think of it as a mental projection or something." Luciano crossed his arms. "I'm offended that you think I'd die so young. I've got many centuries left."

"Si, I'm sorry." Feli smiled softly. "But no matter what, we're family, right? So we're here for each other~!" He grinned. "Let's meet up again here next week!"

"… All right…" Luciano flushed lightly in embarrassment, as he agreed.

"Yay~!" Feli cheered as the memory faded out.

"I've always wondered, fratello… Did you meet your 2P back then, too?" I asked my brother.

"Si. It was a few months after we were separated, and Flavio appeared to me, crying like a baby. I had to sit there and comfort the stupid fashion-bastard for hours before he calmed the hell down." Romano che'd and crossed his arms.

"Aw~ You do care!" I teased.

"Like fucking hell I do!" He bristled, looking somewhat like a pissed off cat. It made me laugh.

"All right, you two. Calm down. Fusososososo~" Spain spoke up, breaking up the friendly argument.

"You met your 2Ps very young." China said. "I didn't meet mine until I was an adult."

"I don't think any of us met ours until we were adults." Russia added, making a few of us jump. He'd been so quiet, lately.

"It is rather interesting that you two met them so young, but I believe it's entirely understandable, all things considered. Trauma does weaken the barrier, and allow us to communicate easier. With you two being separated for the first time, it's no wonder you met them here." England crossed his arms as he watched the next memory pop up, showing Feliciano pulling Acel along.

"Come on, Holy Rome! This way!"

"W-wait! Where are you taking me?" Acel asked, flustered. He couldn't stop looking at the hand that Feli was holding. His bright red face betrayed his emotions.

"To a special place I want to share with you~!" Feliciano smiled. A few minutes later, they arrived in the meadow. "Here we are~! But it's a secret, just between us! So don't tell anyone, okay?"

"W-wow… It's so pretty!" Acel gasped, staring around them. The gentle bubbling of a small creek could be heard, as it hid just out of sight. "It's so peaceful here." He smiled, looking around them.

"This'll be our special place." Feliciano proclaimed. "Our Meadow."

"R-really? Just for us?!" His face turned red all over again.

"Si~! Mr. Austria and Miss Hungary will never know!"

"Indeed, you kept this marvelous place from us all this time." Austria spoke up, looking around appreciatively. "Though I can understand why you did. It is beautiful, though."

"I can't believe I never stumbled across it when I went exploring!" Prussia huffed. That place was pretty Awesome.

A small series of scenes played as Feliciano and Acel spent time in the Meadow. Sometimes they just sat and talked, other times, Feli showed Acel how to paint. It briefly showed a small painting adventure where Feliciano helped Acel paint a rabbit. There was even a brief glimpse of Acel and Feliciano swimming in the creek, though the blond empire refused to look at the other nation.

"Oh my God, he thinks you're a girl!" America realized with a start, before he burst out laughing. "This his hilarious!"

"You know, Al, it's not nice to laugh. Poor Italy must've been so scared when he found out! I mean, it looks like they're falling for each other pretty hard, and I can only imagine how Italy felt when he realized…" Canada whispered to his brother discreetly.

"It's fine. It was pretty funny. Ah~ If only I'd realized sooner… I could've had a lot more fun with it." I smiled wistfully.

"So this is why you like wearing dresses?" South Korea asked, gesturing to a mini-scene of Elizabeta playing dress-up with Feli, who was eagerly indicating which dress he liked the best.

"Si~ They're so light and airy! They're pretty comfy, too. At least, nowadays, they are."

"But… doesn't it get… breezy?" He continued.

"You mean on my dick?" I asked, chuckling as he flushed a light red.

"Y-yeah."

"Only if I forget my underwear." I smirked internally as he choked on his spit.

"Oi! Stop traumatizing people." Romano shoved me playfully.

"Sorry, sorry." I sighed, looking back as the memory slowed once more.

"So you, too?" Feliciano asked, looking at the transparent Luciano. The two were sitting against a rather large tree in the Meadow.

"Si… My Holy Rome's name is Veryl. He… He's such an idiot. He's cheery, but he's also brash, though he can hardly hold his own in a fight, but…"

"You're still falling for him, aren't you?" Feli smirked as Luciano flushed. "You are!"

"Shut up! You've fallen for Acel!"

"Well, yeah. He's so shy and bashful… it's pretty cute. He's got a good heart, too. But there's a tiny little problem." Feliciano looked down.

"Oh?"

"I think he thinks I'm a girl."

"Oh. Well, that's a bit of a problem." Luciano rested his head on one knee as he thought. "I'm not sure I know how to help you, there, Fells. I mean, I've made it very clear to Veryl that I'm a guy. Unless streaking through the house wasn't enough…"

"Y-You streaked?!" Feli stared at him, shocked.

"Not by choice, you bastard!" Luciano bristled. "It was because that bitch, Hungary, stole my clothes. Again. But back to your problems… I'm sorry to say I don't know how to help."

"I didn't think you did. But it's still nice to talk about it. If I spoke to Miss Hungary about this, she'd play matchmaker. To be honest, I just want to see how things play out. Mr. Austria wouldn't really do anything here. He's not a romance kind of guy."

"I know what you mean. My Austria is… he's pretty crass and a total asshole. He really wouldn't care less. My Hungary, on the other hand… She's… erm… to be honest, she's batshit crazy. Chasing people around with a goddamn skillet. She also refuses to wear anything remotely feminine. Her hair is always short, and she couldn't care less about guys. She's the weirdest girl I've ever met. She also hits. Hard."

"She hit you?!" Feli asked, shocked.

"I found the cookie jar." He muttered as his face turned red.

"Ah, that explains it. You have a sweet tooth, then?"

"N-no… Well… maybe a little one." Luciano ducked his head, embarrassed.

You realize he's what they call a cinnamon roll, right? Yang spoke up suddenly.

A what? I asked, confused.

Because he's a tsundere, they'd call him a burnt cinnamon roll, because he's a little bitter on the outside, but a softie within. I paused for a moment, letting his words sink in.

You realize that if Luciano ever heard that, he'd murder you, right?

Yeah, I know. Why the fuck do you think I haven't said anything!

All this talk of cinnamon rolls does make me hungry, though.

You just ate!

Like three hours ago!

"Luciano? Why can we only see each other in this Meadow?" Feli asked suddenly.

"I'm not sure. I've heard that there are some locations in our worlds where the barrier is thinner… maybe this is one of those places?"

"Hmmm… do you think we could learn how to speak mentally outside of this place?" Feli's golden eyes sparkled with glee.

"Maybe. We can practice and give it a try? Never know when something like that'll come in handy."

The sudden rustling of a nearby bush made Feliciano and Luciano look up in surprise. When a rather large adolescent wolf padded out of the underbrush, Luciano stiffened, while Feli seemed overly excited.

"Asher~!" He cried out, wrapping his arms around his friend's neck, as the growing wolf licked his face.

"O-oi! Be careful! You can't fight like I can!" Luciano warned.

"Relax. This is Asher II, Vino's bonded." Feli smiled. "Asher, this is Luciano, my 2P. He's family." Asher approached the wary child, and took a sniff, tilting his head in confusion. "Oh, that's right. He probably doesn't have a scent because he's a projection." Feli apologized. "I… is Vino okay…?" Feli looked at the wolf in worry.

Asher nodded his head, and dropped an envelope in front of Feli. It was a little slobbery, and had some punctures where Asher's teeth had gone through the parchment, but other than that, it was in pristine condition. "Oh, he's made you his courier wolf, now?" Feliciano raised an amused brow, and Asher growled in distaste. "Sorry, sorry." He laughed, before opening the letter eagerly.

"What's it say? I can't read his shitty handwriting." Luciano asked, looking over his 1P's shoulder.

"It says that he's okay. He's living with someone named 'Spain', who's a bossy ass, but an overall nice guy. He gets fed, and has a roof over his head, and can even get away with not doing chores most of the time." Feli smiled. "Lazy~"

"Flavio loves doing housework." Luciano huffed. "I'll never understand why."

"Anyways, he also says that he's doing okay, and misses me terribly." He smiled softly, mirrored by Luciano.

"I wish I could get letters from Lavi…"

"Maybe you can?" Feli looked at Asher thoughtfully.

"Flavio doesn't have a bonded like Lovino." Luciano looked at his 1P suspiciously. "What's cooking up in that brain of yours? I feel like I should be afraid…"

"Afraid? No, never." Feli grinned as the sarcasm dripped from his voice.

"Uh, huh." Luci didn't seem convinced. "Come on. What's up…?"

"Well, short of finding a carrier pigeon, what if err… we find another nation with a bonded?" Feli suggested.

"Like who?" Luciano crossed his arms. "Name someone."

"Er… the name Prussia comes to mind?"

"Prussia?! I don't know… He's so quiet and moody…"

"Really? Mine is so arrogant and outgoing. He's a good guy, but he can be really loud and obnoxious sometimes. I think he's just insecure." Feli grinned. "I like him, though."

"I… I'll ask him. Who knows? Maybe he'll be willing to deliver a letter to my brother for me?"

"I wish you luck." Feli yawned as he curled up in the grass, Asher acting as his pillow. The wolf rolled his eyes and draped his tail over his tiny charge to keep him warm as the sun started to dip below the horizon.

The memory darkened along with the light of the sun, as dusk fell upon the two chibi-nations. Slowly, the two started to drift off to sleep. Just before the memory ended, a familiar voice sighed.

"Of course you're here, Italy." Acel walked over to Feliciano, unable to see the sleeping Luciano. He paused for a moment upon seeing Asher. "You must be Asher… Italy has mentioned you. I'm a friend." Asher licked Holy Rome's hand as he allowed him to approach. "It was such a nice day out, and I've been stuck inside all day… I figured you'd be here. Let's get you home before you catch cold." He smiled and picked him up, carrying him bridal style.

"Maybe one day… I can tell you when you're awake… but for now… Ich liebe dich… Italia." He smiled softly, laying a gentle kiss on Feliciano's forehead as the memory finally faded away.

A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR! I've updated this (at least on Wattpad) On the first minute of 2019. ^^ I hope you've enjoyed!

Words: 2,054/2,630

Pages: 5/6

Posted: 01/01/2019