Pairings brought up/mentioned: Gerita, minor/not really Spamano

Warnings: Minor violence

-2.32-

A lovely, French talk show hostess grins broadly while facing the nearest camera, showing off her flawless, pearly white smile. Her elegantly pampered hands gesture about, motioning for the live studio audience to silence themselves. With a short, giddy laugh, she begins to speak, "Bonjour, everyone! Now, we have a very special guest. It took the producers a lot of convincing to get this exclusive interview. And, with that, I would love it if you'd join me in giving a huge welcome to, straight out of Italy, Europe's seventeen year old sweetheart, Feliciano Vargas!"

Right on cue, the young redhead skips out from backstage, smiling and waving at his viewers with a wink. "Ciao!"

As the crowd roars with cheers and squeals, the hostess and Feli near, hugging and greeting like old friends. When the background music begins to die down, they separate from their embrace and seat themselves comfortably in a pair of violet armchairs, the teen bouncing up and down on the springy cushion. Those watching promptly quiet down as an eager hush falls over the area behind the camera.

"So, first of all, it is really great to have you here today!" She addresses her famous guest.

He giggles in response, "It's my pleasure! I really like these chairs; they're very nice and fun to bounce on."

Almost instantaneously, the audience breaks out in a chorus of 'awws' and cries of his adorableness. Even the hostess gushes for a moment before making a swift recovery, "Aww, aren't you just the cutest?" Feli merely gives a small titter, a light, flattered blush on his face.

"Why, thank you! I can assure you that I know much cuter people, though."

"I'd bet good money on that," She jokes in good nature. However, the woman then leans in, shifting to a more gossipy tone, "Speaking of people you know, word on the street says you finally got a spirit animal."

The Italian gasps, "Wow, you guys found that out so fast! It's only been a few days!"

"Yes, well, I have a very reliable source!" She grins fakely, "Anyways, about that spirit of yours. What are they like? We haven't managed to get a public appearance yet."

"Oh, Ludwig's the best!" His sunny beam of teeth grows impossibly wider, "He's the nicest guy ever!"

"So 'Ludwig's his name?" The hostess perks up in intrigue, motioning for someone backstage to start writing things down, "What else?"

He thinks things through for about five seconds, before rattling away information off the top of his little head, "First of all, he's a gray wolf, which is super ironic since my ancestor's spirit animal was also a gray wolf. Plus, what's really weird, is- wait, you know my uncle Roderich, right? Well, Roderich's spirit animal, Gilbert, is actually Ludwig's older brother! Isn't that crazy? I mean, I guess it's both good and bad, because while they finally get to be reunited, Luddy was really mad at Gilbert for a good while, since apparently Gilbert kind of abandoned him a couple of centuries back, which was a really, really mean thing to do! Oh, and as for 'Luddy,' that's the nick-name I gave him! Isn't it cute? It totally fits him! At first, he's really mean and scary looking, because he's kind of intimidating, but also kind of attractive, because he has a really nice butt, like it's really nice. Plus, he's also really nice himself, because he watches me paint, he makes me feel less lonely, he lets me sleep with him-"

"Wait, he does what?!"

"Si, he lets me sleep with him!" Feli nods enthusiastically with a jubial beam, "Why does everyone freak out when I tell them that? What's so bad about liking to cuddle when you sleep? Fratello and I used to share a bed all the time when we were little."

"Oh, merci mon dieu," She sighs in relief. "You really are too innocent sometimes, you know that?"

"Huh? What makes you say that?"

She closes in next to Feli's ear and shields her mouth with a hand, whispering. His eyes widen, "Oh, so that's why Luddy's face goes all red when I go around saying it!" The hostess nods wearily.

"But, wait, why's that a bad thing again?" Her expression drops and the audience nearly faints at his confused voice, "I mean, it's not like he's unattractive. He has a nice butt, remember? Are you saying you don't think he has a nice butt?"

She laughs awkwardly, "H- hey, where is he, anyways? Surely, he wouldn't leave you to your own devices so soon, would he?"

"Oh, of course not!" He cheers right up once more, thoroughly distracted for the moment. "He came here with Toni, fratello, and I, but I haven't seen him backstage in awhile." He squints his eyes, peering about the audience. "Now that you mention it, I don't see him anywhere." His lips purse up for but a moment before the Italian simply shrugs with a grin, "Oh well! He probably ran off to find somewhere with a better view of the area; Luddy can get pretty serious sometimes."

Meanwhile, I lean over the railing of the catwalk, watching the interaction transpire. I groan, dropping my flushed head into an awaiting palm. "Feli, why do you have to be so naïve?"

Well, at least someone finally explained what it means to say you 'slept with' someone…

And then his immediate response was 'why is that a bad thing?' And then he proceeded to accuse the talk show hostess of disagreeing with the comment about my butt being 'really nice.' I'm starting to think that the only way to get him to stop saying such ridiculous things is to sit down and specifically state what is okay and not. Honestly, someone of seventeen years, even a human, should know this kind of thing. Feli literally has the mind of a child. Well, except for that butt line, but besides that.

I heave a great sigh and slick my hair back once more, gazing down at the studio. As Feli'd presumed, I'd quickly snuck out of the backstage area, stowing away in the empty alcoves above so as to get a better view of the place. Completely new to this sort of thing, I have no idea what I'm doing. However, from past experiences, the best strategy is normally the overly-prepared one, so here I am, waiting for something to happen. That is, if something even does. For all I know, I could just be superfluously paranoid about this. After all, the security here's almost impenetrable, both of the Vargas twins being present. This could be completely pointless.

The soft clanks of feet on metal grating sound from somewhere off to my right. My head immediately whips in that direction to see an unfamiliar figure dressed all in black. He freezes. I stare. All at once, we leap into action. The unknown person lunges towards me, sharp object in hand, its blade glinting menacingly in the dim lighting. Eyes wide, I narrowly dodge the other's jabs, the knife following my movements. I attempt to get behind him, yet find it quite difficult as the unauthorized person stares directly at me, carefully aiming his weapon for vital regions.

While the stand-off continues, I pay close attention to the rhythm of their attacks, pivot, swing, stab, pivot, swing, stab, pivot, swing, stab, pivot. Right on the swing, I move forward, grabbing their wrist and forcing the knife from their clutches, the layered noise of impact echoing throughout the area. Their weapon gone, they become more frantic, and I soon find myself face-down on the floor, one arm pinned behind me at an incredibly uncomfortable angle. I cry out, straining against the other's grip, quick pants for breath coming from each of us due to exertion.

And then, footsteps ring out from the stairs. "Hey, Ludwig, you up here?" A cheerful, Spanish voice calls, then gives a short gasp at the scene, "Holy shit!"

I growl from my place on the metal grates, "Antonio, are you going to help me or not?"

Before anyone knows what's going on anymore, the cloaked being is swiftly pulled off of me, a sigh of relief escaping my lungs at the removal of unwanted pressure. At the fox's bubbling shout of "Move!" I stand and shuffle backwards, Antonio forcing the intruder to their hands and knees. A startled yelp sounding, the other spirit drops his bottom onto their lower back, keeping them to the ground. I maneuver myself around them, crouching down to pick up the abandoned knife, adrenaline continuing to pump through my veins with purpose.

"Did I just stop an assassination attempt?" I look from the others to the knife and back, unnerved and shaken.

"Correction: we just stopped an assassination attempt," He gives a lopsided grin, green, empty gaze holding a darker look than usual. Strange.

I groan, "This is not what I asked for when I decided to stick around."

"'s not what any of us asked for," Antonio chuckles. "And yet, we do it anyways."

Cautiously placing the blade in my pocket, tip up, I rise and approach the two. Seating myself upon the would-be assassin's upper back causes a moan of discomfort to emanate from them, the Spaniard hitting the back of their leg with a hiss to keep it down.

"We should inform Feliciano and Lovino of this." I looked down at the perpetrator's covered face.

The other sighs next to me, "Yeah, I bet we kind of have to."

I raise an eyebrow, "You seem reluctant."

"I don't know," He meets my gaze with tired green, "I'm just worried Lovi will start fretting his heart out as soon as we tell him. It's not like he's a bad guy, not at all; the problem's that sometimes he cares too much."

I mull on that for a moment, "Is that why he doesn't like me?"

Antonio gives a dry laugh, "Sort of! I mean, he doesn't hate you or anything. He only acts like a dick around you because he wants to keep Feli safe. It's nothing personal."

His eyes take on a distant look to them, as if recalling times long past, "He's always been grumpy, whether he taking it out on others or himself," I tilt my head curiously. The Spaniard clears his throat, "You see, growing up, everyone liked Feli better. He was sweet, adorable, cutely naïve, a prodigy in the arts… don't get me wrong, they cared about Lovino. They cared about him a lot. However, the one they liked was Feliciano, and the other knew this.

"One day, I guess he'd had enough. Pissed off and sad, he ran away from home, never wanting to see his family again. He ran, and ran, and ran, until he tripped in the woods and fell flat on his face, tears mixing with mud. After that, he curled into a small mound of five year old and began to cry his heart out in frustration with the world. How do I know? I was there."

A somber sound pours from the back of his throat, "This was how we first met."

I don't know what to say to this.

A smile reappears upon his lips, but seems different from his usual rays of sunshine, less happy and more pained. "Now, imagine my surprise when I, an innocent fox, came across a small child in the middle of the woods, no adult humans in sight. I felt bad for him; I thought he'd been abandoned. And so, I spent the night with him, tried to help the kid out. I mean, why wouldn't I?

"I guess it must have really touched him that I stayed, because he spilled his entire life story to me. After hearing about how he left of his own accord, I tried to push him out of the woods. I did whatever I could to get him to go home, but he just wouldn't do it. At that point, I could only watch over him until he realized how much his family cared," He sighs wistfully, "A night turned into a week, and Lovino, though he'd never admit it, grew pretty attached. Although, it's not like I have the right to talk; I cared about him just as much as he cared about me. One thing led to another, and a full week after he ran off, Lovino Vargas returned home, his new fox spirit in tow."

Antonio turns to me and grins contentedly, "So, you see? He may come off as abrasive, but deep down, Lovi's just an adorable tomato!"

I nod slowly, processing this new information. So, Antonio and Lovino have known each other for at least a decade… That certainly explains some of their relationship. And, not to mention, this means Lovino isn't nearly as cold-hearted as I'd thought. Interesting.

The fox out his phone, messing around with it for a few moments. "Alright, I just sent Lovi a text; he'll be up during the commercial break."

I give him a long look, Wait, then what was Antonio doing before all of this?

A/N:

Hello there! This chapter started off funny, but then shit got serious. And I revealed how Lovino met Antonio! This will be heavily discussed in the sequel fanfic, because, well, please note how I said this was how Lovino met Antonio, implying Antonio had somehow known Lovino before this. This story's crazy, magical, and pirate-filled, so I'm just going to let you guys speculate for a while! Hehehehe...

Anyways, I definitely know who the assassin is, but this is a scrapped plot line. When I planned on adding in a royal fuckton of stuff the assassination attempt would be carefully brought up later with the introductions of certain characters. However, since I decided not to include the characters involved in this particular plot point, I'm going to write a short story about this after I finish SAS and it's sequel. Meanwhile, have fun playing the guessing game of 'who dunnit?' Because I'm nice, here's a list of everything you know about the assassin:

- They're stronger than Ludwig, so definitely a powerful spirit of some sort

- They tried to kill Feliciano, so they work for someone who would want Feli dead

And, yeah, I think that's all I wanted to talk about here. Almost all important things regarding Antonio and Lovino's relationship will be covered in the sequel, and the scrapped assassination plot I'll address in an AU-developing short story later.

Responses to review(s):

maryranstadler1: Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm pretty sure I don't deserve them, heh!

Seele Esser Deutsch: HOLY SHIT I'M SOMEONE'S SENPAI?! -Er, yeah, I'm just shocked someone sees me so! Thank you!

See you next time!