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.
You have no idea how happy I was that a few of you caught the Calvin and Hobbes reference in the last chapter :)
oOo
Alfred was happy to finally make use of all the stuff he wrote in his Tomato Note. It had become a morning ritual for him to meet Lovino at the Vargas house with coffee and energy to spare. They'd then walk or drive to school together, Alfred doing the talking while Lovino tried to wake up and not murder everyone in his path. After they arrived at World Academy, the Hero would walk Lovi to his locker ("Because walking me to class is embarrassing, dammit!"). Before Alfred left, he'd sneak in a quick kiss (not that his Italian particularly minded). The blonde couldn't help but laugh. Thinking back on it, they did half of this morning ritual before they even started dating.
"What the hell happened to you?" Lovino noticed the bandages on Alfred's hand as his sleepy daze wore off.
"Heh…Well, a table and I had a disagreement, but I won."
Lovino rolled his eyes. Analyzing the precise wrap job, the Commissioner knew his boyfriend couldn't have applied the bandages himself. Despite the fact that Alfred couldn't wrap a bandage to save his life (he found that out after a gym class incident), the injury was on his right hand. Since Alfred was right-handed, it would be even harder to wrap the bandages with his non-dominant hand. This job was professional. Going off the condition of the bandages themselves, it was also recent. Alfred wasn't injured yesterday at court, so it must have happened after they all left.
"Cheh, bathroom break, my ass," Lovino recalled the blonde's excuse to be the last to leave the courthouse. "You're lucky you didn't get caught."
"Huh?" sky blue eyes widened in surprise.
Lovino sighed. Between saving his life and scaring off potential killers, Alfred really was his hero…not that he'd ever admit it. Maybe.
"Let me see it, idiot."
"Sure," smiled Alfred. "If you kiss it, I'm sure it will get better."
The tsundere pinched it instead, earning a yelp from Alfred. Pouting, the blonde tried to guilt-trip his companion, but then Lovino really did kiss the top of the bandages carefully.
"Better?"
"Much."
oOo
Before long, the boys found themselves in Ms. Merten's cooking class. Today was another lab day, so the students met their partners in the panel of state-of-the-art kitchenettes. The assignment was various types of breads and the room was beginning to warm up from all the ovens being prepared.
"Ugh…preheating is so boring…" Alfred spun the stirring spoon he'd been washing in his uninjured hand. "Can't we just throw the bread in early?"
"You preheat for a reason, bastard," Lovino rolled his eyes. "It's all about perfect timing and temperature."
"Meh," the blonde returned to his task of drying dishes. "I guess I just don't see why the timing has to be right, then. What's the difference if we toss it in five minutes early?"
"You wouldn't rush into asking your boyfriend on a date without getting the timing right, would you?" the Italian smirked, confident he'd won the argument.
"Why would I have to preheat him if he's already hot?" Alfred grinned back.
"You smooth fucker…"
"So can we skip the preheat?"
"No."
The remainder of the time was spent finding odd jobs for Alfred to complete to keep him busy and out of Lovino's hair. The Hero was more than eager to hand in their worksheets and he didn't complain when he had to return dishes to their rightful place (although it had been way more fun to stack them into abstract Autobots artwork). He even invented a new style of basketball using the laundry bin and balled up washcloths… Anything to help him not pay attention to the delicious aroma wafting out of their oven every time Lovino checked on the rising loaf. When it came time to make sure nothing was burning again, the Italian sent Alfred off on a quest to fetch a fancy plate to serve the bread on. Giving his boyfriend a quick, but affectionate squeeze, the Hero embarked on his journey to the supply closet in the back of the room.
"Idiota…" grumbled Lovino, hoping the heat rising to his cheeks was from the seven ovens baking bread at the same time.
Right around then, he noticed a jealous girl glaring at him now that Alfred was gone. As if her timing would somehow help convince the American that she wasn't a two-faced bitch.
"What the hell are you staring at?" he asked in an annoyed tone.
"Something repulsive."
"I'm not a mirror, Karen."
With that, her face lit up in anger and she turned away to fume. The Commissioner allowed himself a small grin in victory.
oOo
During passing period, Alfred was walking with Kiku. Both had just finished listening to a guest speaker beating the class over the head with politics and his personal opinion on the way the government should be run. His ideas included (but weren't limited to) anti-terrorist AI systems, soldiers who had proven themselves on the battlefield, super-intelligent space monkeys to replace the capitalist pigs, and creating a genetically engineered population who were bred to obey their superiors. The boys were happy to talk about anything else at this point.
"So, are you ready for the Student Council retreat, Alfred?" asked Kiku.
"You bet! I checked my Iris, and we're all qualified to be members of the best group there!" Alfred beamed.
"The best group in terms of what…?"
"Uh…the best overall?" the blonde laughed weakly. He honestly hadn't been specific; he was just excited for the chance to miss next Friday for the chance to take his team to the capital. Student Council groups from around the world would be meeting there, presenting how they ran their student government, and learning from each other. The big take away for Alfred was no school, no homework, and free food (maybe even some party time if he could get Ludwig to lighten up and Roderich to stay behind).
Naturally, Alfred saw this opportunity as a way to show off World Academy's finest. Now if he could just find a way to get the others to approve his idea for Power Rangers-themed uniforms, everything would be perfect.
As they were passing through the busy hallway, Alfred saw Lovino walking in a bit of a daze one floor below him. It kind of reminded the blonde of how sleepy the Italian could be first thing in the morning. Leaning over the balcony, Alfred decided to help him out the only way he knew how – being simultaneously loud and silly.
"Heeeeeeey, Loooooovi! How's it going down there?!" Alfred waved both hands around, as if directing airline traffic. He felt safe, given the distance between them. Even if his greeting was too embarrassing to be shrugged off and ignored, Alfred had an entire flight of stairs worth of a head start, should Lovino lose his temper and chase him down.
Kiku stood beside his tall American friend, a concerned expression on his face. Lovino had returned Alfred's wave (if you could call it that) with a traditional Italian hand gesture that definitely didn't mean 'I'm happy to see you, my love,' so the brunette must have spotted him too. What bothered Kiku the most were the thoughts on Lovino's mind. Trying to explain this to Alfred wasn't easy either.
"What's the big deal if he's thinking about avoiding the roof when they fix the fencing?" Alfred furrowed his eyebrows. Staying away from the easily tampered with roof would be a good thing, wouldn't it?
"The fact that I know he's thinking about avoiding the roof," Kiku tried to clarify.
"Uh, bro? Your Iris lets you read people's thoughts, remember?" the blonde tried to laugh it off.
"Yes, which is why Lovino typically hides his thoughts in images I can't pick up on, or intentionally repeats ridiculous phrases to mess with me…" Kiku lowered his eyes. "The fact that he didn't do either worries me."
This was news to Alfred. It actually made sense that Lovino would normally troll Irises for fun, so if he wasn't, he must be feeling off his game. The blonde would just have to redouble his efforts to make Lovino feel better. Since he couldn't do anything for his boyfriend at the moment, Alfred tried to put his worried friend at ease. He didn't want Kiku to get bummed out too.
"It'll be okay, the Hero is taking care of him!" he laughed bravely, then softened. "Lovi's just…he's been pulling some late nights, so he's a little worn out right now…you understand, right?"
Kiku's face turned scarlet.
"Y-You're taking care of him…? Late nights…? He's…a little worn out?" the black-haired boy repeated slowly. His face suddenly burst into a bright smile. "I-I had no idea you've progressed this quickly! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you two!"
"Yeah—wait. What?"
"This is fantastic news!" Kiku pulled out his phone. "I must tell Elizabeta right away!"
"Whoa, whoa! Tell her what, dude?"
Being the polite guy he was, Kiku leaned over to whisper all the M-rated activities he assumed the two were doing all night long.
"Holy crap, Kiku, no!" Alfred was as red as a beet. "We haven't, we're not, oh my god, we just got together! What are you thinking?!"
"So you're not—" Kiku quickly found a hand pressed over his mouth.
"Nope," the blonde blurted out. "And you should really come with your own warning label, dude. You can't just go around talking about that sort of thing in public!"
"I don't understand," the fanboy feigned innocence. "I whispered it, so it shouldn't have been a problem… Besides, if your thoughts were anything to go by, then—"
"Wow, look at the time!" Alfred checked his imaginary watch. "I'd better be getting to class! Seeya!"
Alfred took off sprinting towards Economics. It would be the earliest he'd ever arrived for that class. He crossed his fingers that lunch would be here sooner than later. The first thing he was going to do when he ran into Lovino was get him to teach him that thought-blocking trick.
oOo
Despite all their flaws, the Bad Touch Trio could be surprisingly observant and almost sweet when they wanted to be. When they finished meeting with their tired-looking Commissioner during lunch, the BTT realized something was bothering him. Could it be the stalker? Or maybe the court case? Perhaps some bullies were still giving him a hard time at school? The trio of lovable misfits wasn't sure exactly, but they decided to try to cheer him up all the same…
Using/abusing their Police Force rank, they ducked out of their final class ten minutes early in order to catch Lovino before he left school. They waited outside his math classroom, striking a cool pose; complete with sunglasses, as the dismissal bell rang (they had to get his attention somehow, right?)
Naturally, the tsundere saw them and promptly ignored them.
"Lovino?" his professor asked. "Aren't those your police officers?"
"I barely know them."
"Uh…I think they were waiting for you…" the taller man blinked, slightly in awe of how the three boys hadn't moved an inch despite their…interesting pose.
"They aren't allowed to speak to me when they're acting stupid."
That did it.
"This isn't stupid, it's awesome!" Gilbert protested, dropping his arms so fast, he nearly decked another student in the face.
"Don't you think it's cool, Lovi~?" the less-offended Antonio smiled, flexing his arms the other direction.
"Something this magnificent could never be degraded by such phrases as 'stupid,'" Francis winked at a passing group of girls.
By now, the whole hallway had stopped to stare at the three seniors.
"I'd ask you not to cause a scene, but it looks like we're beyond that at this point…" the brunette growled, slowly massaging his temples. He was too tired to deal with this crap today. "What do you bastards want?"
"To the police station!" Gilbert bellowed.
Without another word, the BTT charged in, sweeping the Italian up, and half-dragged, half-carried him to their base of operations.
"This had better be really fucking important," the unhappy Commissioner spat, after they'd finally convinced him to sit in his chair and hear them out. A part of him still believed it was some kind of trap.
"We just want you to relax, Lovi~!" Antonio gave him a shoulder massage.
"Yeah, we have an awesome video to play for you!" Gilbert chimed in, fiddling around with the TV monitor.
"Oh, joy," the tsundere snarled sarcastically, but accepted the drink Francis brought him. He took a sip and spat it out. "Che cazzo?! This tastes like it came out of your ass!"
"What?!" Francis was taken aback. "That's freshly-brewed iced tea, I prepared it myself!"
"Arthur must be corrupting your ability to mix three things together, then."
"And Alfred must be corrupting your tastebuds!" Francis shot back, taking a sip for himself. "It tastes fine!"
They continued to bicker about the finer points of beverages, until Antonio managed to call for a cease and desist. The Spaniard offered to get Lovino something else to drink and headed off to the mini-fridge. Francis ended up resuming the shoulder massage, which only managed to creep Lovino out. The instant the blonde's hands subconsciously wandered, Lovino delivered a headbutt and told his henchmen he was leaving.
The Bad Touch Trio managed to sit him down again, insisting he had to at least watch the video. After enough whining, they won.
"We're just worried about you," Antonio ruffled his cousin's hair.
"Yeah, so we made this awesome movie to help you go back to your usual, grumpy self!" the albino laughed.
"Cheh…I don't need anyone's help to recover or whatever…" Lovino insisted.
"Oh, mon ami, we're not trying to help you recover, we just want to make you laugh a little," nodded Francis.
"Fine, fine, let's get this trainwreck of a video over with, so I can go home…" Lovino leaned back in his chair and tried not to groan at the horribly clichéd picture of Gilbird 'roaring' like a lion in the opening credits. He needed to give these losers more assignments. Clearly they had way too much free time on their hands…
The Commissioner honestly hadn't been sure what to expect out of his minions. The three eagerly settled in around him with snacks and drinks. They tried not to laugh about the video, which only made them laugh more. The Italian felt his eye start to twitch. Whatever half-baked ideas came out of their tiny brains couldn't possibly be entertaining. Lovino was sure this would be a waste of his time.
Imagine his surprise when the video turned out to be a montage of the BTT training to perfect their various police poses.
Right away, the footage cut to a dance studio Lovino recognized as Aunt Isabel's. Antonio looked dressed to dance, Francis looked ready for the catwalk, and Gilbert looked ready for an 80s rock concert. Somehow, Gilbird was even wearing a matching sweatband.
Following that were several perfectly executed stunt poses. Some were even slowed down or sped up for dramatic effect. A very patriotic-sounding song became louder as the clips went on. Next, everyone's eyeballs were assaulted by large block letters filling the screen in a garish, neon yellow color.
PERFECTION.
THIS IS PERFECTION.
CAN PERFECTION BE MADE SO EASILY?
ONLY WITH THE MOST ELITE POLICE FORCE KNOWN TO MANKIND. (HA HA! SUCK IT, RODERICH!)
THIS IS THEIR STORY…
Somehow even the text was loud and obnoxious. Lovino had little doubt that Gilbert was behind it. Slowly, the images were pieced together on the screen like the world's easiest jigsaw puzzle. Cymbals crashed together and the footage was quickly rewound. The screen flashed white and a very awkward looking BTT struggled to maintain their balance in what looked to be some kind of acrobatic cheerleading sex position. They failed and tumbled to the ground.
Lovino couldn't help but wince at the pop music instead of their pain.
"Who chose this crap?"
"Gilbert…" both Antonio and Francis sighed.
"What?" the self-proclaimed Prussian defended himself. "It's awesome!"
"You have the musical taste of a twelve year old girl," the tsundere paused as harsh-sounding German rock picked up. "…And a homicidal 40 year old man."
Then next section consisted of the boys nearly nailing their choreographed poses, but tripping over themselves at the last minute. More than once, they tried to recover, but ended up flopping to the ground in an even more fantastic fashion. Even standing up proved difficult for the Bad Touch Trio when they got tangled up in a mess of limbs, props, and Francis's designer scarf. At one point, even the camera was knocked into the dogpile. Lovino wasn't sure if it miraculously not breaking was a good thing or a bad thing.
After the arm-flapping footage was over, the awkwardness began. When it came to pulling pranks and getting themselves out of trouble, the Bad Touch Trio shared a hive mind. However, as soon as dancing and posing was involved, they couldn't be any more different. Francis was able to make his body flow with every step…completely un-synchronizing him from the group. He looked more like a very out-of-place ballet dancer than a stunt man. Gilbert tossed caution (and common sense) to the wind and busted out his breakdancing moves, making his frenzied dance look as though he belonged to a tribe of berserkers under attack by bees. Antonio fell somewhere in the middle of the group's wild spectrum. Clearly, he had taken his albino buddy's choreography to heart, but was subconsciously correcting it as he went. His natural ability to dance took over and each step had its own flair…had someone else come up with the original moves, it might have looked like a believable routine and not a dancer slowly getting drunk.
"You three are such morons…" Lovino tried to cover up a chuckle.
"Ah!" Antonio poked his cousin's cheek. "You laughed! I heard you laugh!"
"I did not!" the stubborn brunette swatted at his hand, turning away angrily.
"Kesesese! Don't worry, I believe you, Lovino," grinned Gilbert. "I know you were secretly moved to tears by my beautiful video and awesome moves…"
"More like bored to tears, stronzo…"
It was the first time Antonio and Francis had seen the video in full, so they were enjoying it to the max. The brunette couldn't stop laughing at Gilbert's antics and claiming that's where Ludwig got his dance moves from to the albino's absolute horror. Gilbert loved his little brother, but no way was he defending what Ludwig considered 'dancing.' Meanwhile, Francis was seeing the dancing Spanish booty for the first time on camera and decided there was money to be made. He flipped open his phone, to double-check that he still had Elizabeta's number…
Back on the TV screen, the elite officers started twirling handcuffs. Gilbert's spun off his finger and smacked Francis in the face (earning a snicker from the audience). After switching over to spinning batons, Gilbert accidentally extended his, smacking himself in the face (Lovino actually burst out laughing at this). While performing some flashlight stunts in the dimmed studio, Francis dropped his and reached down to pick it up. Unfortunately, this made him miss the hand-off step, so Gilbert and Antonio whacked each other in the arm with their law enforcement-grade flashlights.
"And that's why we decided not to pose with our police tools as often…" Francis rubbed his arm in sympathy.
The video continued on, featuring enough bloopers worthy of a Marvel movie gag reel. Several perfectly executed maneuvers were thrown in for fun, but the majority of the footage had the audience struggling not to fall out of their chairs from laughing so hard.
As obnoxious as those three could be, Lovino had to admit he felt a lot better after their home movie.
oOo
On the walk home, Lovino tried to explain how funny the BTT's dance video was to Alfred. He could only describe it as a cross between America's Funniest Home Videos and Rocky Horror Picture Show. The only difference being nobody won a prize and everyone was Tim Curry.
"That sounds hilarious!" the President agreed. "Tell me you have copies!"
"That could be arranged…"
"Awesome! Then I'll have something to base our Student Council presentation on for next week's retreat," grinned Alfred. "You know how well our last group dance went."
Lovino could only stare at him in disbelief. He could clearly remember the random dance Alfred made them all do to save the stupid school flag from the sticky hands of a sugar-high, tree-climbing little girl. It was the stuff of nightmares.
"I'm joking! I'm joking!" Alfred quickly gave him an apologetic hug with a laugh.
Since he started dating the loud and proud Alfred Jones, Lovino had just about given up all hope in keeping his 'Low Exposure' policy. It had worried him at first, but now he didn't care who watched him dare to hold conversations with his boyfriend or judged him for holding hands with one of the school idols. Granted, it would still be a cold day in hell before he started willingly going along with all of Alfred's crazy plots, but it was amazing how much he had changed in the last few months...
Alfred made Lovino feel safe at school, but once he got home and Alfred left, the anxiety would return in waves. He could feel eyes on him from every window and nearly jumped out of his skin when a branch scratched against the glass. Lovino hated admitting weakness (because he'd taken care of himself for so long and became strong on his own) and tried his best to hide it.
Feliciano picked up on that and was having none of it.
"Oh, hi, Ludwig~!" Feli greeted his friend on the phone. "I just finished making our lunches for tomorrow!"
"Y-You didn't need to go to such trouble with—" Ludwig replied and was ignored.
"Ve~! I borrowed an idea from Kiku and cut the little sausages to look like octopuses!" beamed Feliciano. "They look so cute~! I almost don't want to eat them!"
Ludwig shook his head on the other line. There was no reasoning with his friend when food was being discussed. At least he hadn't mentioned—
"Pasta! The pasta will be—ow!" Feli's voice became muffled as he addressed his brother in the background. "Fratello! Stop kicking me, I'm trying to talk to Ludwig!"
"That's why I'm kicking you!" a distant voice grumbled. "Hang up already, I hate listening to this sappy crap!"
"It's not sappy, it's cute," the amber-eyed boy corrected him.
"Should I call back another time?" Ludwig interrupted. His inquiry about the Italian's resources in their World Studies group project could wait.
"No, no! I'm sorry, Ludwig!" Feliciano apologized, trying to explain. "Ve~ I've been sleeping with Lovi to keep his mind off the stalker who tried to kill him!"
"What the hell, dumbass?! That's—"
"—That's…considerate of you," the German spoke up uncertainly.
"Yes! We've made great progress!" the younger Vargas boasted. "We've gone from the couch to the bed again for the first time in eight days!"
"Shut the hell up, Feli!" Lovino roared in the background. "The potato bastard isn't my shrink!"
"Nobody is because you won't talk to anyone about it," Feliciano turned his attention to his brother.
Ludwig heard some more sibling squabbling before the line went dead. He sighed and went back to his homework. Even if it wasn't a full conversation, it was nice to hear Feliciano's voice…
oOo
For the most part, the students of World Academy saw Joe Brown as a crazy stalker who was a few cards short of a full deck. Not everyone was a fan of the resident Iris Zero, but that didn't mean they wanted him dead. That was crossing a line.
Despite that, there were still anti-Iris Zero sentiments floating around and superstitious morons willing to act on them. As long as they didn't cross the same lines as Joe, there shouldn't be any problem. It was up to them to keep the freak in line, wasn't it? If one Iris Zero got too cocky, more would likely show up and poison their school. This place was unsafe enough with Lovino Vargas attending.
The brunette in question found that out the hard way when he was locked in a storage closet in the Chem room.
"Son of a…" he hissed through gritted teeth. Not for the first time in his life, he had to remind himself that it was illegal to grab a ribbon of magnesium to burn near judgmental bastards in order to blind them…and morally reprehensible, of course.
Lovino had been grabbing some test tubes for the teacher, when an incident in the hallway took priority. Without an adult keeping a watchful eye on the dismissed class, four students hung back. When no one was paying attention, they slammed the closet door shut and flipped the lock.
"Ha! That'll show him!" a smug boy crossed his arms.
"Yeah!" his buddy slapped him on the back.
"That's what he deserves, after all!" a familiar face from Lovino's culinary arts class grinned.
"B-But, Karen…" the uncertain fourth member spoke up, her voice shaking slightly. "I don't know if this is such a good idea…"
"They'll let the Iris Zero out when the next class gets here," Karen waved off her concerns. "Don't be such a chicken! He's bad luck and everyone knows it!"
"But what if—"
"Don't you wanna hear him freak out?" the smug boy asked. "It'll be hilarious!"
"I'll bet he starts crying!"
"I'll bet he begs us to let him out!"
"I'll bet he starts adding your names to his shit list…" a voice said from behind the door, followed by a loud click.
The group was considerably surprised when Lovino broke himself out effortlessly.
In the confusion, the uncertain girl tried to leave, but her angry friends didn't want to risk her ratting them out. One of the guys shoved her into a shelf without a second thought. The flimsy boards started to shake and several heavy textbooks began to tumble towards her. Surprising them all for a second time, Lovino came to her rescue by shielding her from the falling books.
Che palle… He mentally cursed his slow reflexes from not getting enough sleep lately. Nothing like a 200 page Chemistry textbook avalanche to remind him of that.
As Lovino's vision started to get fuzzy, a blurry image of a large blonde came into view before darkness covered everything.
"Alfred…?"
The new arrival ended up being Ludwig, who was always early to class and not pleased by what he walked into.
"I demand an explanation," his voice rumbled with authority half the staff would kill for.
The others stammered out a quick lie (which only served to anger the walking lie detector further), but the rescued girl admitted what they did. Ludwig heard her out and quickly snapped a picture of the liars on his phone.
"There. In the extremely unlikely event that our grudge-holding Police Commissioner forgets who was involved, this picture will prove to be suitable evidence," he tucked his phone back into his pocket. Ludwig effortlessly tossed the unconscious Italian over his shoulder and inspected the girl's scratched arm. "You should consider coming to the Nurse's Office with us to get that looked at."
"N-No, that's, um, not necessary!"
"Then, if you'll excuse us…" he stood up in a fluid motion, nodding politely to her.
Seemingly impervious to the bizarre looks he was getting in the hallway, Ludwig took Lovino to the Nurse's Office without fail. He ended up waiting with the ticking time-bomb of a patient while Nurse Braginskaya flitted between three athletes who had somehow managed to nearly give each other concussions in a three-way collision during gym class. Seeing Katyusha's predicament, he offered to help the busy nurse.
"Ah, thank you, Ludwig!" she smiled at him warmly. "Please lay him down over there and let me know when he wakes up, so I can do a check-up."
Ludwig agreed and sat down in a chair across from the bed. Picking up a discarded magazine about rockets of all things, he thumbed through the pages to keep entertained. The German caught a glance of the Commissioner sighing in his sleep slightly. Ludwig's mind wandered to how strong the sibling resemblance was between Feliciano and Lovino…Well, peacefully sleeping Lovino, that is.
Ludwig recalled a time in elementary school when Lovino went through all kinds of bullying after the Iris Zero reveal. The German could remember his own awful experience about being pestered about his Iris. So many people were eager to lie to his face to test how 'accurate' he was. Even some of the adults got in on it and treated his Iris like a fun, new game. Whenever he felt bad enough, he tried to blame Lovino, but couldn't fully do it. Even though the Italian identified his Iris, it didn't change the fact that Ludwig was the one who exposed him as an Iris Zero. In the long run, the pain Lovino went through was far greater than his.
Every time Ludwig caught himself trying to blame Lovino, he ended up more angry with himself. The German eventually learned how to manage the pain his Iris and the liars brought him. Liars still bothered him, but their lies no longer made him sick. He had long since wanted to apologize to Lovino, but never had the right chance. Lovino was obviously still upset with him and the blonde was at a loss for what to say. 'Sorry I made your childhood a living hell' didn't quite have the effect he was looking for.
Instead, Ludwig found himself stuck in a circle of guilt, blame, and regret. He wanted to break the cycle, so he could move on and one day tell Feliciano the hardest truth – he was the one who outed his big brother and indirectly was responsible for the bullying both Vargas boys went through. He felt like he couldn't move forward with Feli until he took that step.
"Holy shit…You're a bigger idiot than I thought, potato bastard…" a groggy (but somehow still stubborn) voice hastily pulled him out of his thoughts.
Ludwig nearly jumped out of his seat. Had he been talking out loud? The annoyed look the recently awakened tsundere was giving him was no help. He decided to continue regardless.
"You don't have to forgive me," Ludwig said simply. He stood up to inform the nurse her patient was awake. "I just wanted to let you know you were worthy of an apology."
Lovino could only scoff as the potato bastard left.
"Cheh, arrogant bastard…"
oOo
A/N – We're slowly getting back to normal (or about as normal as this story gets). It should stay that way for a bit, but you never know when the drama will return to smack everyone in the face with a brick.
And I'm aware that they wouldn't have enough time in one class period to make bread from scratch, so I'm pulling more cooking creative liberties.
On a different note, I could have probably done an entire chapter about the BTT's random dancing adventures…
-Rajikka
Translations
Fratello – Brother (It.)
Bastardo – Bastard (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.)
Che palle – What balls (It.)
Che cazzo – What the fuck (It.)
Mon ami – My friend (Fr.)
Stronzo – Bastard or Asshole (It.)
