Before reading, please note that the first part of the story will take place in the past- 12 years to be exact. After the first cut, everything else is in the present. And now: Enjoy!
Arc One: The Underground
Chapter Two: Not So Innocent
The sun was warm, his belly was full, and all Lovino could think of doing was taking a nap. His eyelids were already drooping, mind blurring out as he prepared to enter into a deep sleep. Splayed out on the grass and surrounded by massive trees, Lovino took in the sounds of nature. He honestly loved the outdoors, despite the lies he would tell his brother whenever the younger questioned why he went into the woods so often, but little details didn't matter.
As he fell deeper into the beginnings of slumber, his ears began to take in much more sound. There were sounds of birds chirping, the leaves rustling ever so slightly in the wind, and...footsteps? The tired Italian was too sleepy to care, and so all he did was hope that whoever it was would leave him alone.
The footsteps paused, and Lovino could faintly tell that they were closer to him than before, but he continued to ignore them. Sure, his nonno would probably reprimand Lovino if he ever found out that the young boy had totally disregarded his safety, but he could give zero shits at the moment. He felt too good...too tired. Faintly, he noticed that the sounds around him seemed to still, but he paid no mind.
And so Lovino slipped into a dream, mind awake and body defenseless.
When Lovino woke up, the sun was already going down. The trees were casting shadows on the ground all around him, yet he still happened to be in full sunlight. He was still warm, despite the cooler air from the oncoming night. Sitting up, Lovino covered his mouth with his hand as he let out a muffled yawn. How long had he been asleep? He'd come out at noon, and judging by the fact that the sun began to set around 8 p.m. in the summer, he was guessing he'd overslept.
"Great, now Nonno is going to get mad at me when I get home." He muttered, voice sounding loud and out of place in the quiet environment. Suddenly, Lovino paused. It was rather quiet, unusual for this time of day. In his experience staying out late at night, it would get rather noisy because of all the bugs and night creatures. Lovino looked around him, unnerved.
As he twisted his neck to look behind him, he felt pain flare up from the right side of his neck. He gritted his teeth to keep from crying out; It hurt like a bitch, damn it. He reached up a hand, tenderly stroking the pained area. He couldn't feel anything out of the normal besides the heated skin, and so he choose to ignore it until after he was able to ask a maid to check the injury.
Disregarding the pain, Lovino stood up, intent on going home. He was already late and injured, no way was he risking anything else happening to him. As he began to make his way through the woods, he got the feeling that he was being watched. He shivered slightly, whether from the cold or the creepiness of the situation, he didn't know. His eyes glanced around him constantly, sweeping the ever darkening woods for any lurking creature.
Lovino almost jumped in joy as he saw his house through the openings between the trees ahead of him. It was still quite far away, but at least he knew he was closer. Biting his lip in thought, the young Italian contemplated going into a full-out sprint back home. It would be a challenge, but definitely worth it considering he was jumping at every stray sound.
Mind made up, Lovino took a deep gulp of air and took off. He jumped and swerved around trees, branches, and trunks, eyes set straight ahead to his nonno's massive mansion. He could feel his smug self grinning in triumph, internally mocking whatever had been following him. Stupid thing would never had gotten to him anyways. Lovino was just too good.
It was already well past 9 when Lovino entered through one of the back doors, hoping to sneak into his bedroom without running into any of the maids, or worse, his nonno. Ignoring his rumbling stomach, he made his way up one of the smaller, less grand staircases (used mostly by the maids and the cleaning staff), looking around the corners of the walls to make sure no one was in the halls. Finally, Lovino saw his bedroom door come into sight and he all but ran to it.
A toothy grin lit up his face as he pushed open the door, but just as soon as it came, it fell at the sight of a frowning Nonno. He was sitting in Lovino's desk chair, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
"Lovino, care to explain why you're home so late?" The older of the two, Romulus, asked. He was resisting the urge to drop the 'stern father' act and pull his grandson into his arms. Honestly, he was more relieved than he was upset, but his colleague had mocked Romulus for being such a softie, and so he was determined to prove the other wrong.
Lovino straightened his back, his rebellious side pushing to take control of the situation. He furrowed his eyebrows in faked anger, hands coming to rest on his hips. "I was in the woods! And I fell asleep, okay?"
Romulus' lips turned down into an honest frown. Hadn't he told Lovino not to go into the woods anymore? Plenty of times had he warned his grandson of the dangerous of the woods (although he never mentioned them- the Underground creatures that resided there), yet he continued to venture out without any mode of protection.
"Lovi, what have I told you about the woods? It's dangerous out there; something could have gotten you!" He scolded. What was he going to do with his rebellious grandson? He supposed nothing, considering Lovino would just do whatever he wanted.
The young Italian stayed silent; something had gotten to him, and he just hoped that it wasn't some deadly bug or something. The injury did hurt, but it didn't feel painful enough to tell his nonno. If anything, he wasn't going to tell him because he didn't want to prove him right.
Instead, Lovino walked farther into his bedroom, intent on taking a shower before bed, all the while disregarding his grandfather completely. Romulus kept his eyes on him, watching as the other gathered clothes from his dresser. There really was nothing he could do for his bambino, was there?
"Alright, you win." Romulus stated, letting his face fall back into a soft smile. "Just be careful, Lovino." The other hadn't done anything to signal that he'd heard him at all, and Romulus almost chuckled. His grandson was so cute!
As he made his way out of the bedroom, he called back behind him, "I'll have a maid bring up something to eat, Lovi. Buonanotte!"
God fucking dammit, Lovino groaned internally, hands reaching up to press against the throbbing skin on his neck. It was burning. That area, the one that had been bitten all those years ago, felt as if it was on fire. His teeth gritted almost painfully, and his back arched up off his bed.
"Fuck!" He gave a low cry, and tears began to gather at the corners of his eyes, blurring the view of the ceiling. It wasn't the first time this had happened, but it had been a long time since it last occurred, and damn, he forgot it hurt like bitch.
All Lovino could do was wait until the pain passed, begrudgingly counting the seconds as they passed in an attempt to distract himself from the pain. How many times had this happened before? Too many to remember, and yet he still had no idea as to what the fuck had bit him or why he was responding like this.
As the pain began to finally subside, he tuned into the sounds of his own gasping for air. He felt lightheaded and weak, struggling to sit up against the headboard of the bed. He really did hate when the sudden pains hit him; it was absolutely horrible! Lovino leaned his head back, eyes closing in tiredness. He'd been woken up by the pain, and now all he wanted to do was sleep, but he knew he couldn't. While the pain had left, the throbbing had not, and it would never allow him to go back to sleep. All he could do now was wait the night out.
Suddenly, a thought came to Lovino, and he groaned. He had a test in AP English tomorrow, didn't he? Well, fuck him running, he was going to have to take it on two hours of sleep.
Shit.
"So he still doesn't believe you, huh? Told ya." Gilbert laughed loudly at Feliciano's pouting face, launching himself over the couch to sit on the other side of him. He caught his little brother glaring at him, but all it did was cause him to laugh even more.
"I don't understand why he doesn't want to listen to me, though. Why would I lie about you guys?" The Italian was leaning back into the couch while muttering his worries. To the left of him, Ludwig let out a sigh.
The blonde German was bothered that Feliciano was still trying to convince his brother of their existence. Hell, Feliciano shouldn't even know about them, had it not been for GIlbert's big mouth. Even when Ludwig reprimanded his older brother for breaking one of the Underground's rules, the smug teen had continued to tell the Italian all about them- the Underground. It was frustrating, to say the least.
"Maybe you should let it go, Feli. And anyways, the less you talk about us, the better it is for you. You really should be careful, you know. If anyone were to find out you know, then-" Ludwig was abruptly cut off by his brother who'd stood up and shouted,
"Man, aren't you a stick in the mud, Luddy! C'mon, nothing bad's gonna happen, because you know just as well as I do that Feli won't tell anyone, and Lovino doesn't even believe in this shit." Ludwig groaned internally at his brother's flailing arms and choice words.
Running a hand through his hair, the blonde spoke lowly, "You do realise that you're badmouthing yourself and the Underground by calling it shit?" In response, the albino gave him another round of obnoxious laughter.
"I would never expose you guys!" Feliciano suddenly yelled out, sitting up straight to look at Ludwig directly. "I just want my fratello to know, too. Something as amazing as this should be shared between the two of us!"
Hearing his words, Ludwig felt his cheeks flush. He knew Feliciano didn't mean that he was amazing, but rather the whole thing with the Underground and such, yet he couldn't help but pretend that he had meant it that way. Technically, Ludwig was part of the Underground, so Feliciano could very well be talking about him.
"Stop daydreaming, Bruder. We gotta talk about the situation with Lovino." Ludwig was brought out of his momentary train of thought by the smirking Gilbert. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"Ja," He stated, glancing at Feliciano, "Are you going to continue to convince Lovino? I highly doubt he'll believe you anytime soon, but it's your choice."
Feliciano worried his lip with his teeth, thinking through his options. He really did want his fratello to believe him, but he'd been trying to convince him for over six months now, and he had yet to even peak the other's interests. His ramblings were always brushed off and he would often be scolded by Lovino, and threatened to have his boyfriend beat up. But maybe…
"Oh!" The Italian jumped up to his feet, scurrying a few feet forwards to the coffee table and plucking off the picture frame that had been placed there for decoration. He held it tightly in his arms, smile growing as his plan came to light. There was no way Lovino could deny the Underground if he was facing its inhabitants himself!
Gilbert tilted his head curiously at the redhead, but when he caught sight of the frame, he grinned in realization. He kind of felt stupid for not having thought of it in the first place, but then again, neither had the other two.
"Hold on, Feli, what are you doing?" Ludwig hadn't quite caught up to Feliciano's meaning yet, but it seemed that his brother had.
Both Gilbert and Feliciano shared a knowing look and turned towards the confused German. Thrusting out the frame, Feliciano pointed at the people in the picture. Neither said a word, but they viewed Ludwig in excited silence. It took little before their meaning clicked in his head.
And when it did, Ludwig immediately spit out his response.
"Nein, we are not exposing our friends to Lovino."
They're response was just as immediate, both getting in his face with their blubbering own. He grunted before pushing them back, although he'll admit that he was much gentler with Feliciano than his own brother, who'd ended up stumbling back a few steps.
"What? Bruder, why not?" Ludwig had to resist looking at their faces, knowing very well that both would be pulling devastated faces, and he also knew that if he did look, he would no doubt give in.
"Because exposing our own selves doesn't put anyone else in danger, but exposing others does. I'm not going to have someone's life on my hands, Gilbert. We can't take that risk."
"But Feliciano met them-"
"And that was against my wishes, and his own. You just strolled in and shoved them in Feli's face."
Feliciano rolled his eyes as the two brothers began to glower at each other, the tension thickening as they spoke with glaring looks. Honestly, if you wanted anything done, you had to do it yourself, thought Feliciano, letting out a puff of exasperated air.
"Guys? Come on! No fighting, not today." Feliciano knew that they would back off if it would make him happy. Contrary to what people believed, he often had people wrapped around his finger and he wasn't afraid to use it to his advantage. He was surprised people didn't realize that he was just as bad as the his brother (although in a different sense), and not some little angel sent from above.
"How about we just watch a movie and pig out on pizza, hm? Like we planned, Luddy?" The Italian said, wrapping his arms around the other's muscular right arm. He sent him a smile when Ludwig nodded in agreement, before glancing at the albino. "And Gilbert will stay with us, yes?"
Gilbert felt heat rush to his face, but he nodded, suddenly much more calm than he was before. "Ja, of course the awesome me will stay!" He exclaimed, immediately forgetting the fight from before as he lunged to take control of the TV remote.
Satisfied with his work, Feliciano flopped back down onto the couch, whipping out his phone and dialing the pizza place. After ordering three different pizzas for each of their different tastes, the redhead pulled out cash and handed it to his boyfriend.
"Luddy, mind getting the pizzas?"
Without hesitation Ludwig nodded. "Okay, I'll be back in 20. And for the love of God," He shot a (slightly playful, at least for Ludwig) look to his older brother, lying on the couch opposite of him, "don't start a fire. Again." Gilbert only smiled, chuckling at the thought of the first time he'd set the house on fire. Definitely wasn't doing that again, he thought.
The only sound in the house was of the TV and the voices getting cut off as Gilbert flipped from channel to channel. Feliciano listened for the sound of Ludwig getting ready to leave; the jingle of his car keys, the hallway closet opening and the rustle of his jacket being taken out, the slam of the front door closing behind his German boyfriend.
He was gone.
"Hey, Gilbert." He called, mischievous smirk playfully catching the albino's attention.
"Feli?"
"How about we call some of our friends, hm? For Lovi?"
First thing's first, I've a head canon that Feliciano is nice and sweet, but manipulative when he wants to be, so I hope he's not to terribly OOC to you guys. That's how I like to portray him, so sorry, I guess, if any of you don't fancy it.
Next, here's a question for you all: Would you like translations of the foreign words in the chapters? I didn't think they'd be needed this time, since I think most of the phrases are pretty common in the fandom, so I was only planning on doing it for longer phrases or less common words. But! If you guys wish for translations, I'd be more than happy to oblige.
Last of all, the official update schedule will now be every Tuesday! And I might even surprise y'all by giving out surprise updates throughout the week, but that's not promised. I am working on other stories as well, of course.
Oh, almost forgot! Thank you for all the reviews and the follows and favorites on the story! I really appreciate it :)
Thank you for reading!