The morning of the court case, Feliciano did not feel well at all.

He woke up, alone in Ludwig's bed. Where Ludwig was, he didn't know. He sat up, stretching forwards, like a cat. He even mewled quietly for effect, even though there was nobody in the room. It was largely to amuse himself, anyway.

The last thing he wanted to do was get out of bed, but he knew he had to. He had to get up, get dressed and get on with the day.

With a sigh, he threw the covers off and tumbled out of the bed, landing on his knees. It took him ages to get dressed, but when he'd finally managed to get his jeans on the right way, he made his way down to the kitchen.

He collapsed onto a chair, letting his head fall against the table.

"You look bloody awful." commented Arthur, getting up and placing a hand against the back of Feliciano's neck. "And you're frightfully warm."

Feliciano managed to grumble one sentence in four different languages and put his arms over his head.

Arthur sighed, sitting next to him and rubbing his back in a comforting gesture. "Feli, if you aren't feeling all too grand, go back to bed." he soothed.

"M'kay." croaked the Italian.

Arthur was about to speak when Ludwig walked into the room.

"Feli?"

Feliciano peeked up at the German.

With a frown, Ludwig put his hand beside Arthur's on Feliciano's back. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nuffin." was the muttered reply.

Ludwig looked at Arthur for an explanation. "I think he's a little under the weather." said the Brit.

"Then he should go back to bed."

Feli groaned. "But I'm already up now." he whined.

Ludwig folded his arms. "I don't care." he said. "Bed."

With a few muttered complaints, Feliciano got up and dragged himself back up to Ludwig's room.

"Well, that was strange." commented Arthur, going back to his tea. "Did he seem a little... off to you?"

Ludwig sighed, sitting on Feliciano's now vacant seat. "The court case is today." he replied.

Bringing his teacup up to his lips, Arthur hummed quietly. Choosing between blood relations and who he thought were his real family wasn't difficult for him, but he understood why it may be difficult for the Italian twins.

"He's already told Jenny that he wants to stay, but..." Ludwig lent his head rest against his hand. "I think he's starting to regret his decision."

Taking a sip of his tea, Arthur shook his head. "I don't think he regrets it, per say." he said, placing his cup back on the table. "I think he really does want to stay, but he doesn't want to be here without Lovino." He gave a sad smile. It was the same with himself and Peter.

Ludwig gave another drawn out sigh. "If Lovino goes, Feli's going to be inconsolable." he said.

"If Lovino goes, Antonio is going to be inconsolable."

Ludwig couldn't help but smile at that.

Speaking of Antonio, as this was occurring he was trying to talk to Lovino. Trying to. So far, Lovino had done all the talking.

"...I mean, we've been waiting years, eight years, to be exact, for this exact thing to happen and he's all like 'oh, but Lovi, we have friends and everything is sunshine and rainbows!' and it's like, what the literal fuck?! I've been wanting to go back since the day we left and I fucking know he has too, so why is he being like this? He's driving me round the fucking bend and... Are you even listening to me?"

Antonio sat bolt upright. "Of course I am." he said, even though he'd been drifting in and out since the beginning of this rant. "But Lovi, I really think you should try talking to Feli about this instead of ranting to me."

Lovino bit his lip. What good would come of talking to Feliciano? He'd just get frustrated again and storm off.

With a small smile, Antonio pulled Lovino into his lap. "Try talking to your brother, Lovi." he said. "Please? For me?"

"I'm not going to do it for you!" Lovino snapped back, before falling quiet for a few seconds. "But... I will talk to him..."

Romulus' whole world spun with two words.

"Custody granted."

He didn't think he'd ever been this happy. He'd never smiled this much in his life. From across the room, he noticed Jennifer Dale giving him a smile, but it didn't seem to reach her eyes. Not that he noticed.

When everyone had left the courtroom, Jenny caught up with Romulus. "I suppose you'll want to come to the house and see the boys?" she asked.

Still smiling, Romulus nodded eagerly. Words seemed to fail him.

"You can tail me, okay?" called Jenny, getting into her car.

Romulus climbed into his own car and followed the care worker as she drove away.

"Feli!" Lovino slammed Ludwig's bedroom door open. He's been looking high and low for his brother before the damn German informed his that he'd gone back to bed.

Feliciano sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Si?"

"We need to talk."

Nodding in agreement, Feliciano shimmied up until he was sat against the headboard.

Lovino climbed onto the bed, not bothering to take his shoes off because he knew Ludwig would have a fit if he knew. "About going home."

With another nod, Feliciano bit his lip.

"I really want to go. But I'm not going anywhere without you, so—"

"Lovi," Feliciano lay his hand on his brother's arm. "I'll go."

"What?" Lovino blinked.

"I'll go." repeated Feliciano. "As long as I can come back here whenever I want."

Lovino smiled, wrapping his arms around Feliciano.

Even as he pulled up outside Apple Tree House, Romulus was still smiling ear to ear. He followed Jenny up to the door, literally shaking with anticipation as she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Jenny unwrapped her scarf from her neck and hung it on a coat peg. "Lovino. Feliciano." she called into the hall.

"They're up in my room." said Ludwig, who was sitting on the stairs trying to comfort Antonio, who feeling a little sorry for himself. He didn't want Lovino to leave, but he'd always visit, right? He'd assured him that much.

"Could you get them for me, Ludwig?" asked Jenny.

With a nod, Ludwig got up and left, leaving Antonio to sulk.

Jenny frowned. "What's wrong with you?" she asked.

Antonio opened his mouth to ramble on about how much he was going to miss Lovino, but changed his mind when he noticed a man who could only be the twins' grandfather. "Nothing." he muttered.

Deciding not to press the subject, she gave Antonio the "we'll talk later" look as Ludwig came back down the stairs followed by the twins.

Lovino's eyes widened at the sight of his grandfather. "Nonno!" he yelled, rushing towards Romulus with outstretched arms, Feliciano following after.

Romulus gathered them both up in his arms, tears welling in his eyes as he held his precious boys again for the first time in eight years. "I've missed you both so much!" he sobbed. "You're both coming home, aren't you?" he asked.

Lovino and Feliciano nodded, smiling brightly. "As long as we can visit our friends whenever we want."

Romulus froze, looking back towards Jenny. "You haven't told them?" he asked.

With a cough, Jenny shook her head. "I thought it would be better coming from you." she replied.

"Told us what?" asked the twins, in unison.

Romulus set them back on their feet. "I'm taking you back to Italy."

End note: ...I have no words. Next chapter is the conclusion and the chapter after that is the epilogue. Keep your eyes open for them.
The song for this chapter is Last Night, Good Night by Kaito Shion.
~Lolly xXx