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.
Sorry for the wait! You have no idea how happy I was that a few of you caught the Calvin and Hobbes reference in the last chapter :)
oOo
In the main lobby of World Academy, Kiku, Lovino, and Alfred were looking over the newly-designed Student Request Board. Whenever a teacher, student, or club needed help with something, they could submit a written request here or online. Alfred had managed to get permission to put it in the main entrance for ease of use. Kiku and Lovino designed and set the board up, combining their artistic talents to make it eye-catching and organized. It had taken about an hour to set up, but was worth it in the end. Alfred let out a low whistle when he saw the finished product.
"So this is like our Bat Signal…"
"Please don't call it that…" Kiku smiled weakly.
"Yeah, we made sure not to include any of your dumb superhero crap on here for that reason," Lovino scooped up one of the red pandas running around his legs.
"Pssh, Oli doesn't think it's 'dumb superhero crap' to slap on a few Batman logos…" Alfred picked up the remaining cub, shoving him in Lovino's face. "Right, Oli~?"
"Just when I think you can't act more like a child…" the Italian rolled his eyes.
"Prepare for my counter-argument!" Alfred's blue eyes shined mischievously.
"And what would that be? A toy car? A sippy cup?"
"Boop," was all Alfred said as he bopped Lovino on the nose with Oli's soft paw.
"The hell was that—?!"
"Boop!" the President repeated the attack and took off running down the hallway laughing.
"Get back here, you bastard!" Lovino shot off after him, the two red panda cubs barely clinging to his shoulders.
Kiku quickly and stealthily followed. This was a dangerous pursuit, but the reward would be well-worth the effort. In a flash, Kiku had his camera out and at the ready. It would only be a matter of seconds before the wild tsundere caught his unwitting prey. The current SHIP vice president couldn't help but hope Lovino went for the jugular.
oOo
Feliciano was grateful he had the Iris he did on more than one occasion. It helped him bring people closer together and proved to him that there was no one in this world untouched by love. Even the coldest, most guarded people had someone they held in high regard. His Iris made Feliciano feel like he could help others find the person who would make them feel special. Most recently, it let him know that Alfred truly cared for his fratello. Feliciano had noticed the name above Alfred's head switch over to Lovino's shortly after Homecoming. That meant the blonde genuinely cared for him. It wasn't a game or a joke as Lovino insisted on before they started dating. Alfred truly loved him.
It was his brother who worried him.
Lovino had the natural tendency to bottle things up and periodically explode like a time bomb later. Feliciano let him do what he had to throughout their lives up until now, but it was starting to get painful to watch. His brother was exhausted from stress and felt like he couldn't even share that with the people around him. Feliciano had a sneaking suspicion that was the reason behind Alfred's name not showing up above Lovino's head. Granted, it wasn't a bad thing that the name there was his own, (Feli was happy his fratello cared about him, despite all the hardships he put his big brother through) he would give anything to see Lovi become truly happy. Opening up more to Alfred had to be the key!
All he had to do was convince his brother that he was right. So, Feliciano did the most logical thing he could think of – cornering Lovino in the kitchen with a pan of homemade pizza (topped with extra tomatoes) and no chance of escape. Carefully, Feli steered the conversation from the topic of using plum tomatoes versus hybrid tomatoes to a certain blonde.
"Who are you to tell me what to talk about with Alfred?" Lovino tried to sound bored, but Feli knew it was really because he was too tired to get angry. "It's none of your business, fratello."
"You're right," the younger Vargas surprised him. "So, if you won't talk to family like me or Nonno or Toni, you should talk to Alfred, who loves you!"
"Feli…" his brother groaned. He wasn't in the mood for this.
"No, listen to me, Lovi…I can't even tell what you're feeling and that scares me," Feliciano's eyes watered slightly. "You're keeping too much inside and hiding too much from Alfred. He deserves to know…"
"Why? So he can end up in the same damned boat as me?" frowned Lovino. "He went through the same crap I did. Why make him relive that?"
"B-because he didn't almost die!" Feliciano couldn't stop himself from bursting into tears. The brunette didn't want to lose it like this, but the more he thought about what would have happened if Alfred got up to the roof even a few seconds later, the worse he felt. He shook his head, but couldn't clear it. "Do you have any idea how scared I was when I heard what happened? If Alfred had missed your hand…I had to try to imagine a world without you and I couldn't do it!"
Lovino bit back his retort.
"I nearly lost you, fratello! Why can't you see that?!" Feliciano wrapped his arms around his older brother. "Why can't you see how many people care about you?!"
"I…" the older Vargas felt his voice trail off.
"You know I'll always be there for you, Lovi…and no matter how hard to try to hide it, you know that Alfred loves you so much…" Feliciano wiped his eyes. "You need to start trusting us more. You need to tell me when you're sad or let Alfred know when you're feeling scared. We only want to help you…"
Slowly, Lovino returned the hug. Both of his hands felt heavy, but Feliciano didn't seem to notice. His little brother just continued to burrow into his shirt, refusing to let him go. Lovino hadn't seen him get so worked up over something in a very long time.
Maybe Feli's right…
oOo
Inside a dimly lit room, three silhouettes gathered around a small table. Their faces were obscured by dark hoods, hiding their identities from whatever foolish mortal lurked outside the doorway leading to their clubroom. Tomorrow, the room would be filled with a brigade of hormonally-crazed teenage girls (and several of their male counterparts). Tonight was just a meeting of the top brass, a gathering for the stealthiest, most enthusiastic and calculating members who had little regard for trivial things like restraining orders and differing OTPs—a group of covert perverts, if you will.
"In brightest day, in blackest night, no pairing shall escape my sight. Through 2-D worlds or human plights, beware my power – a Shipper's might!"
With the oath completed, the trio got down to even more serious business – the creation of new couples. Each member listened intently as they took turns debating the likelihood of certain pairings coming together. Sometimes they were brief, no brainer statements and other times the presenter came prepared with evidence in the form of bookmarked pages, photographs, polls, interviews, and elaborate charts to back up his or her shipping claim. Most of the time the OTP potentials made sense…and some of the time, the other members wondered from what corner of Crackship Space their president had pulled her current pairing from.
"…And that is why I feel that L from Death Note and Hunny from Ouran High School Host Club would make a perfect couple," Elizabeta nodded happily. "Any questions?"
Um, president, did you get this feeling at like 3 AM while watching Netflix again?" Mei asked, pushing back her hood.
"I can't help it; I just think they would make such a good pair!"
Kiku reviewed the notes in front of him.
"In canon, they have never met," he mused. It was more of an observation really, something like that wasn't exactly an obstacle as far as these three were concerned.
"I don't care!" their president slammed her fist onto the table, before raising it back up, pointing towards the stars. "I ship it!"
The others shrugged and agreed. It wouldn't be the first time Elizabeta was struck with inspiration after watching inhuman amounts of TV shows in the middle of the night. Besides, the girl was a master of ship-to-ship combat. Who would be stupid enough to challenge her?
"So, Kiku," Elizabeta grinned, switching gears. "How's my favorite student government couple doing?"
"Very well, as you can see in these pictures…" the Student Council Insider spread a row of glossy, new photos across the table. The majority of them involved the day the duo were sitting in one of the large couches in the Student Council room. At the time, they had thought they were alone. They thought wrong.
"Aww…they're cuddling with the red pandas together~" Mei practically melted into her chair.
"Heh, poor Lovino's really let his guard drop ever since he and Alfred hooked up—oh, wait, here he's flipping off the camera," the Hungarian laughed. "Phew, I was worried for a second there!"
The group laughed and divvied up the photos. Some would be used as motivational prizes for their club members tomorrow and others would be kept in the trio's private collection. After much giggling, snorting, and heavy breathing, it was time to move onto even more pressing matters – organizing a day on campus where people could bring in their pets for grooming, socializing, and (most importantly) photo ops.
Elizabeta was fairly certain she could die happy if she got a group picture of Alfred and Lovino with the red pandas, Arthur and Francis with their bunny, and Gilbert and Matthew with Gilbird and a giant polar bear.
oOo
Walking to lunch hand-in-hand, Matthew couldn't help but notice something odd about his boyfriend's skin. No, it wasn't that Gilbert was paler than normal, Matthew just found it odd that it was coated in some kind of dust. At first, the blonde didn't even notice it, but now he could feel it sticking to his own skin and making him itchy.
"Please tell me this isn't some kind of contagious disease, eh."
"What?" the red-eyed boy asked, catching on when he saw where his companion was gesturing. "Mein gott, Birdie! It's just sawdust!"
"And why are you covered in it?"
"Let's just say I'm going to be the best damned fairy godmother in the world very soon...or at least, the most handsome one."
"Since when do fairy godmothers wear sawdust?"
"Birdie," Gilbert spoke with absolute certainty. "Sawdust is Man-Glitter."
"I don't even know how to respond to that..." laughed the blonde. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Friday, would it?"
"Uh...how much do you know?" the albino grinned.
"Enough," Matthew bluffed. In all honesty, he knew very little about what would be happening. Having the Student Council President as your brother should make things convenient and informative, but all Alfred did half the time was leave him confused and worried for his safety in general.
"Well, let's just say this Friday is going to be awes-uh-really, really great!" Gilbert caught himself, recalling a previous almost-fight he had with his boyfriend not long ago. "Especially since I saved that horrible thing Francis tried to build out of a cookie sheet, terrible lumber, and mistakes."
"Gil, you know you can still say the word 'awesome' around me as long as you don't overdo it, right?" Matthew chuckled.
"Sure, I do," Gilbert turned a little pink. "I just don't know what kind of day you've been having yet and the last time you got pissed at me, I had to sit by Satan and watch you flirt with somebody else..."
Matthew couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"O-Oi, it's not funny!" Gilbert's blush deepened. "A-Anyway, if you already know about the Operation on Friday, do you want in?"
"Hmm...You can send me the details later and I'll see if I'm free."
"Awesome!" the albino beamed, eager to spend more time with his Birdie.
"On one condition..."
"What's that?"
"Make sure you clean up all your 'Man-Glitter' before then."
oOo
Ludwig headed towards the Student Council meeting room at the end of the day. He found himself lost in his thoughts once more. The German couldn't get a certain bubbly, pasta-oriented Italian out of his head, no matter what he did. Could he slowly be going insane? Sometimes, he even imagined what it would be like to date Feliciano, but was still concerned with telling him the truth about the Iris Zero incident. On his way into the meeting room, he actually ran into Lovino, who wasn't happy to be stuck talking to him until the others arrived.
"I swear to god, I'm never getting here early again…" the moody Italian grumbled.
"Very well, but since you're here, I was hoping to get your honest opinion on something," Ludwig fought to keep the uncertainty out of his voice.
"Good luck with that, bastard," Lovino arched an eyebrow. Unlike his spacey brother, he had no problem lying to people's faces, truth-detecting Iris or not.
"I…I have feelings for Feliciano."
"Then go bother him about it, not me."
"I can't…" Ludwig admitted, looking down at his hands. "Not with things the way they are…After everything I did in the past, I can't possibly—"
"Ugh, dammit…Is that what this is about?" Lovino sighed loudly, as if he was dealing with an annoying child. "Look, I don't care what you do, potato bastard, just stop using me as an excuse. The past is the past and all that shit."
"W-What?" the blonde was thrown for a loop. This was definitely not the reaction he was expecting from the tsundere. Where was the enraged screaming and flying fists? He had to wonder how much he let slip the other day in the nurse's office.
"I hate you for being a potato bastard, not for ratting me out in 2nd grade," Lovino explained. "If I don't hold a grudge, I doubt Feliciano does, you dumbass."
Ludwig let the less-than-eloquent words sink in. Even if half of it was still an insult, the blonde felt grateful. It was as if one of the weights had been lifted.
"Thank you for your assistance in the matter."
"I didn't help you because I wanted to! I still hate your ass!" Lovino snarled, pointing an angry finger at him. "Cheh…I don't know what Feli sees in you…"
This instilled Ludwig with some hope that Feliciano may reciprocate his feelings after all, but he didn't mention it for fear of pissing Lovino off more. The upperclassman was already hissing at him more than a cat being forced to take a bath.
"Your President has arrived~!" Alfred loudly announced his entrance upon opening the door.
"About time, bastard!" Lovino turned his anger on the other blonde. "I was stuck in here forever with nothing but the potato bastard's crappy company!"
Soon after, the others trickled in. Kiku was maintaining a pleasant conversation with Arthur about Mint the rabbit, Alfred was pulling coffee for himself and his angry boyfriend from thin air, and Ludwig was wishing his fellow officers would start taking these meetings seriously one day.
The Student Council had gathered to finalize everything for the retreat at the end of the week. It was a scary concept, but the Police Force would largely be in charge of looking after things in their absence. Some saw it as the equivalent of asking a pack of hungry velociraptors to look after a herd of three-legged lambs.
"We'd be better off asking the Blue Sun Corporation to not experiment on innocent civilians," sighed Arthur.
"Or the Reavers to join Greenpeace," Lovino agreed. "We won't have a school to come back to and then the headmaster will kill us."
"We're not gonna die. We can't die, Lovi. You know why?" asked the grinning American. "Because we are so very pretty. We are just too pretty for god to let us die," Alfred finished the string of references and high-fived his boyfriend.
"Now, now…as much as they aim to misbehave, I'm sure their hearts are in the right place," Kiku couldn't help but add.
"What?" Ludwig finally spoke up, completely baffled.
"Firefly, dude," Alfred laughed. "Didn't you catch any of those references?"
"…What's Firefly?"
The groans, angry shouting, and paper-throwing fits were immediate. Despite his stature, Ludwig felt himself sink back into his chair. Even the ever-polite and soft-spoken Kiku seemed upset with him. The German still wasn't quite sure what landmine he had stepped on, but was beginning to regret it. It made no logical sense for him to feel bad about something so random, but the looks he was receiving from the others weren't helping any. Was this what going mad felt like?
"Ludwig, I am very disappointed with you…" Kiku shook his head sadly. "But I suppose it's in our best interest to continue the meeting for now and educate you on cult classics later.
"More like cult masterpieces…" Alfred grumbled, but moved on for now.
As representatives for World Academy, the Student Council was tasked with presenting a brief summary about the programs they offered and how it led to social and academic success at their school. Being members of the Student Council, the five boys would be viewed as the best and brightest World Academy had to offer. They would be perceived as rule-abiding, charitable, and honest gentlemen with top test scores.
Naturally, there would be quite a bit of fibbing at the event.
At least they could look forward to checking into a fancy five-star hotel once the convention was done. All that followed after that was two full days of blowing off homework and being waited on hand and foot like royalty. Most had planned on heading down to the giant, indoor water park and refusing to leave it until they absolutely had to. Even with over 70 other Student Council groups from around the world staying at the same place, the sheer size of the pools (and the sheer terror of meeting the glare of either 'green-eyed devil') was more than enough to ensure they'd be relaxing comfortably for the weekend.
Kiku and Alfred went over the interactive presentation they put together for the retreat, while the others gave their input. Ludwig was pleased by the amount of detail they used. He was hard-pressed to find any major flaws or areas in need of improvement. Meanwhile, Lovino was just glad he had to do virtually nothing for the presentation, other than show up and look good. Arthur had been ignoring everything that came out of his idiot cousin's mouth, assuming it would all be fine because Kiku helped make the presentation. When all five agreed on a final draft, it was time to talk police politics for the day they'd be out of school.
"Are you ready to brief my brother and the others, Alfred?" Vice President Tightpants asked.
"You bet," Alfred smiled, sweeping his arm across the table dramatically. "Mobilize your minions, Lovi!"
"Already on it…" Lovino replied while texting.
The Bad Touch Trio showed up in record timing. Ludwig had to admit he was impressed. He had never been able to get his brother anywhere so quickly.
"How did you get them here so fast?" he asked.
"Easy. I told Gilbert you were on a drunken rampage, I told Francis that Arthur was stripping, and told Antonio we were starting a football game."
Francis eyed the tsundere officers angrily.
"I am very disappointed in you both."
"W-Why the hell are you cross with me, stupid frog?" Arthur exclaimed. "He's the one who lied to you, not me!"
"He lied to me and you're still wearing clothes."
"I wouldn't have to lie to you bastards if you showed up anywhere on time," the Italian rolled his eyes.
oOo
By the end of the meeting, came the moment Lovino was dreading. Normally he didn't mind talking to Alfred (hell, he even found himself enjoying it most of the time), but today was different. Today he had to talk about the sensitive topic he'd been so evasive on. Even worse, he had to admit a weakness to someone he cared about.
Sensing something was up, Alfred followed Lovino to his locker without complaint. If something was bothering his boyfriend, he'd do all he could to help by either letting the Italian vent or smashing someone's face in. Whatever was needed to get the job done and Lovino smiling again.
"L-Look, bastard…" the tsundere reluctantly began. "I…I wanted to talk about what happened on the roof when…you know…"
Alfred immediately became serious; all thoughts of pulling wrestling moves on various bullies vanished from his mind.
"I know it's all settled now, but…" Lovino ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Cazzo, I don't know how to say this…I haven't been taking it well, I guess."
"Anything I can do to help?" Alfred carefully took the brunette's hands in his own, rubbing reassuring circles over his knuckles with his thumbs.
"I don't know, dammit," admitted Lovino, looking down to hide his faint blush. "This whole thing is stupid. I shouldn't let it get to me…"
"Are you kidding?" the blonde exclaimed, catching himself and toning it down a little. "After all the crap you went through, I'm amazed you're pulling through as well as you are."
"I don't know about that, bastard…" he sighed. "I've been having trouble sleeping and for awhile I couldn't even relax on anything past the ground level…Even though that son of a bitch was locked away, it felt like someone was going to jump out and shove me through a window or something."
He felt Alfred's grip tighten slightly.
"I sound like an idiot, but it's true," Lovino forced a smile for the other's sake. "I don't have a fear of heights and I can hear footsteps from a mile away, but it took days for me to be able to sleep in my own room again. This whole stalker thing's still messing with my head."
"If that makes you an idiot, I guess I'm one too," Alfred pulled him into a hug. He rested his chin on Lovino's head and looked towards the sky. "I can't count how many nightmares I had about not making it to you in time. And for the first couple days, I'd jump a little every time a bird flew past a nearby window because I thought it was you falling. It was awful."
"…I'm just glad I can…I can talk to you about it…" Lovino did his darndest not to stammer. This proved difficult from all the wild emotions playing air hockey inside his chest.
It was strange putting himself in the open like that. Lovino had forgotten how it felt to be so vulnerable and reliant on another person to handle that fault with care. There were plenty of assholes out there who would break his trust and use this info against him. So many jerks who would find pleasure from his pain…but Alfred wasn't one of them. Lovino knew he could trust his crazy, hamburger-obsessed boyfriend with anything at this point. It was all just a matter of taking that first step and putting everything out in the open.
"Godammit, I hate it when Feliciano's right…" he muttered under his breath, resting his head on Alfred's shoulder.
"What was that?" Alfred asked, slightly leaning back so that he could see Lovino's face.
"Nothing…just shut up and don't move," the Italian felt his face heat up again.
"That can be arranged…" the blonde smiled and resumed the embrace. This time he added a few kisses to the top of his boyfriend's head. He was much better at comforting Lovi through his actions than his words, anyway.
Lovino softly sighed. Talking about that stalker nightmare with Alfred had made him realize just how scared he actually was. Even now, he was still a little shaky, but as long as Alfred was there to keep holding him and kissing his hair, he was pretty sure he'd be alright.
oOo
A/N – I was sick for awhile, so I ended up re-watching Firefly, because it's Firefly. I don't normally put in that many references to one thing at a time, but exceptions can be made for Firefly. Ten points if you can figure out the other thing that got three or four references this chapter :)
I'm excited to write the Student Council retreat chapters, but a little concerned there will be no World Academy to come back to once it's over. Good thing the BTT will only be in power for a single day…
-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.)
Mein gott - My god (Ger.)
Stronzo – Bastard or Asshole (It.)
Cazzo – Shit, dick, damn, etc. (It.) Your standard Italian swear word.
