Author's Note: And here we have Soulless!Italy. Let me know how I did. I think three days will be too much for the Tea Leaves series. I ended up finishing early for this one. I might just go back to Sundays and Mondays for this series. Don't worry. Saturdays will be reserved for the Wonderland series. For now, I already have next week planned. Enjoy this week's match.
Match Four: Angelo Caduto:
Lovino couldn't sleep. His house had become an uneasy place to stay. He could leave but he had his reasons not to. The older Italian man looked through all of the notes that the Catholic church gave him. So far, he didn't have any luck.
Lovino rubbed his forehead.
"What am I missing here?" he asked. The Italian man looked at all of the papers in front of him. None of it made any sense.
"What's the matter, big brother?" a forced worried voice asked. Lovino leapt up in his chair and whipped around. Feliciano stood in the doorway with a lifeless smile on his face. His eyes half open looked so dead. Just looking at his brother made Lovino tremble.
"Don't scare me like that, you dumbass!" he shouted.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Feliciano said. No emotion. Just hollow. Empty. Lovino shook his head.
"No, it's fine," he said.
"What's the matter?" the younger brother asked. "Can't sleep?"
"No," Lovino said.
"Oh," Feliciano said. The brothers stared at each other in silence.
"Why are you up?" the older brother asked.
"Can't sleep," the younger man said. Lovino leaned back in his chair. When had Feliciano ever slept? He seemed to be going out every night. Where, Lovino didn't want to know.
"Oh," his brother said. "Did you need something?" Feliciano shook his head.
"No," he said.
"Okay…" Lovino said. The lingering silence didn't help. The younger man just stood there, staring.
"Can you please stop doing that?" the older Italian man asked.
"Doing what?" Feliciano asked.
"Stop staring at me like that," Lovino said. "It's creeping me out."
"Sorry," the younger brother said. The older Italian man sighed and rubbed his forehead. He just shoved the papers into his desk and walked out of the office.
He stopped short just outside the doorway.
"What did you say?" Lovino asked. Feliciano turned his head.
"Nothing," he said. "Why would you think that I did?" His brother shook his head.
"No reason," he said. Lovino walked back to his room. He could've sworn that Feliciano was muttering something under his breath.
Lovino wasn't the only one who noticed.
Feliciano was different. Everything about him felt so fake. His smiles had become so cold. The Italian man kept to himself. He didn't try to talk to anyone at the World Meetings. Usually, his high energy could brighten up a room. Lately, that energy had become dark. Dull. Almost dead. The other countries couldn't figure out what was going on.
"Good morning, Feliciano," Francis greeted him at the building. The Italian man turned to him. He stared at France with those half-open dead eyes of his.
"Good morning," he said. The man didn't stay and chat. Feliciano just walked inside. Francis shivered as the door swung closed.
The Italian man looked so bored at today's meeting. He looked like he was ready to run out the door. Alfred ran his mouth while all eyes stayed on the younger Italian man. He wasn't drawing like he normally did. Feliciano was bored but didn't doze off. He wasn't even thinking about pasta like he normally did.
It didn't take long for whispering to follow.
"Does he seem a bit off to you?"
"What's wrong with him?"
"What happened to him?"
"Something isn't right with him."
"When did this change happen?"
"Should we do something?"
"What can we do?"
"Does Ludwig even know?"
Feliciano could hear what they were saying. But it didn't faze him. Let them talk. Nothing they could do could change him.
"Have you visited Ludwig yet?" Lovino asked.
"No," Feliciano said over dinner.
"Are you going to see him?" the older brother asked.
"No," the younger man said. Lovino froze with his fork in hand.
"No?" he asked. His brother shook his head.
"No," Feliciano said again.
"What do you mean no?" his brother asked. "Why?" The younger Italian man shrugged.
"Don't feel like it," he said.
"But isn't he your best friend?"
"Best… friend?"
"Yes. You love him."
"Love?"
Lovino's stomach dropped. How could these concepts be so foreign to his brother? Feliciano was all about love and friendship.
It was then his brother noticed his plate.
"You're hungry?" Lovino asked. Feliciano looked down at his plate. He hadn't touched his pasta at all. Feliciano had an icy smile on his face.
"No," he said. That wasn't it either.
"You haven't eaten any pasta for five days now," Lovino said.
"No?"
"What's the matter? You sick or something?" He reached over to touch him on the forehead. Feliciano shoved away his hand.
"No," he said. Wasn't there any emotion left? Lovino raised his eyebrow.
"Then… what's the deal?" he asked. Feliciano just shrugged.
"I don't want it," he said. The color drained from Lovino's face.
"What?!" he asked.
"What?" the younger Italian man asked. "I just don't really like it anymore."
"You what?!" Lovino asked. His brother shoved his plate forward.
"In fact, I'm not hungry anymore," Feliciano said. He got up from the table and walked away.
"Feliciano!" Lovino shouted after him. The door closed behind him.
Where does Feliciano go at night? He's goes out and doesn't come back until about three in the morning. The Italian man stepped out of house and paused.
"Oh. You're here early," he said. He turned to see Sabine stepping forward.
"Good evening," she said. She stood inches away from him. The nightcomer bowed her head. Feliciano put up his hand.
"Please," he said. "What brings you by?" Sabine had the smile of a fallen angel.
"We have an appointment tonight," she said. Feliciano raised his eyebrow.
"Oh?" he asked. Sabine held out her hand.
"Come along and we shall see," she said.
"Heh. Gladly," Feliciano said. He took her hand and followed her down his stairs.
From upstairs, Lovino watched from his bedroom window. His stomach dropped.
"Who was that?" he asked himself.
Sabine led Feliciano further into the city. He asked no questions. The Italian man still had a dull look on his face. Come to think of it, Sabine did look kind of cute. He did entertain the thought about a bit of carnal delight with her.
"No," Sabine said without turning around.
"Hm?" the Italian man asked.
"Not a chance," she said. Feliciano shrugged with no emotion on his face.
"A man can try," he said. The nightcomer shook her head. They disappeared down a narrow alley. Sabine held out her hand and waved it in a circle. A giant portal opened up in front of them. Feliciano followed behind wordlessly. Their footsteps echoed in the tunnel. The old Italian man would've been scared shitless.
"It's kind of homey in here," he said to no one in particular. Sabine just ignored him. They stopped in the middle of the darkness. Feliciano had that cold smile on his face.
"Oh," he said. "You're here."
Lovino picked up the phone back at the house.
"Antonio," he said. "We're got a problem. It's worse than I thought."
