Tomato of the Sea
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Warning: AU, Lovi's way of verbally expressing annoyance, male x male pairings, and a very bipolar Gilbird fluttering about.
Hope you don't mind the early update. I got overly excited for the event that happens at the end of this chapter…I won't say more than that. Enjoy!
oOo
Lovino was currently lounging around in one of the rocking chairs Alfred kept on the outside porch of his house. Alfred himself was helping someone out it town again with something; Lovino couldn't remember exactly who the blonde had mentioned. All he knew was that waiting around the house all day for Alfred to come home was getting really boring, really fast.
He had been here for five days now, and was beginning to feel like he would be able to fit in. Lovino was grateful for everything Alfred had done for him, but for some reason the blonde didn't let him lift a finger since his arrival (Lovino didn't count cooking as a chore as much as a necessity). At first it was nice because he got to relax and catch his breath, but now he was completely and utterly bored. Even when he had offered to help Alfred at work, he was turned down. He knew the blonde was just trying to be nice, but now it was hurting Lovino's pride to be this useless.
Deciding that staying home all day again would only make him more bored (he avoided going to the beach by himself ever since his run-in with the masked bastard), he slipped his shoes on and began the short walk to town. He mentally ran over all the places and people he remembered from his tour with Alfred. The images blurred together, but he could recall a few. As Lovino wandered around town, he ran into Bella.
"Hi, Lovi!" she happily greeted him.
"Hi, Bella," he waved back, feeling a little shy around her for some reason.
"What are you up to today?"
"Not much…just out for a walk," Lovino ran a hand through his hair, hoping he didn't sound as lazy as he felt. He couldn't explain it, but he didn't want Bella to be disappointed with him. Alfred may have been right about her being Canton's big sister. "What about you?"
"I was just heading over to help Antonio with his stand at the farmer's market," she smiled brightly. "Would you like to join me?"
As soon as he accepted, Bella happily looped her arm through his and led him over. On the way, she pointed out places and faces (at a much slower rate than Alfred) for Lovino to see. She also told him the basics about helping out at Antonio's food stand – smiling at customers, telling them how good the produce was for them, and the prices of each item. Lovino nodded, glad that he was at least familiar with food. The brunette became a little unsure when he saw the crowd around Antonio's stand grow and grow. He could do this…right?
"I'm here, 'Toni!" Bella led Lovi behind the counter and grabbed an apron for both of them. "And I brought Lovi with me!"
"Gracias, Bella!" the curly-haired owner shot them both a grateful smile. "Perfect timing!"
The three quickly got to work.
"Excellent choice, amigo!" Antonio tossed some apples in a bag for an older man. "Would you like some cinnamon as well? Apples and cinnamon go great together!"
"Trust me, the peaches here are to die for!" Bella smiled at a pair of women. "I eat them all the time; they do wonders for your complexion!"
"Uh, here's your food," Lovino hesitantly handed the bag over to an angry-looking mother of four. He was still getting the hang of this.
"About time!" she huffed and another angry customer took her place. Lovino was getting all the winners today.
"I'd like three pears, if you think you can handle that, boy," a hook-nosed man sneered. "I have pies to make."
"Why the hell do you want pears?" Lovino felt his temper get the best of him. "It's peach season, bastardo!"
"…I-I suppose that would make a good pie too."
"Don't hold them back with pies!" the brunette yelled at him. "Grill 'em up and change the noodle game!"
"Peaches with…noodles?" the man looked thoughtful (and a little afraid of the quickly angered boy in front of him). "That does sound good. I'll take a dozen!"
"Damn right you will!" Lovino bagged up his order. "Any of you other bastards here wanna get in on this peach pasta action?"
Several hands shot up and the people started pushing forward towards Lovino with more questions. He answered them all ten at a time.
"Don't give me that 'I don't eat breakfast' bullshit! It's too early to be an asshole! Eat some of these strawberries and start your day out right, by owning the shit out of it!"
"Avocados are nature's butter, dammit! If today wasn't the last time you ate one, then it's been too long!"
"Yeah, I know this heat is fucking ridiculous! Grab a chair, drink some citrus iced tea, splash some whisky in there, and flip off the sun!" he shouted at the group in back. "We've got all the shit you need to get started right here!"
When the rush was over and people stopped throwing their money at Lovino, the three salespeople sat down on the ground to catch their breath. Everything was sold out and Antonio practically had money coming out of his ears. He pulled out a hidden bag of tomatoes as thanks.
"Lovi, you were amazing!" Antonio hugged and paid each helper. "You can come back anytime to help! I'll even pay you in tomatoes if you'd like!"
"I'll think about it," Lovino tried to play it cool and not to drool at the idea of coming home with a basket of delicious tomatoes every time he helped this bastard for an hour or two.
oOo
Halfway across town, Alfred was sitting in the dark, dusty library annoyed how he got stuck helping out Arthur and that both Matthew and Francis bailed on him. Especially Mattie, who works at the library to begin with! This was one of the few times Alfred regretted being a hero (as well as a dutiful son). Somehow that got him stuck helping Arthur reorganize and alphabetize each section of the library. He couldn't ignore a call for help, even if it did come from his short-tempered mother/father figure.
To keep himself from dying of boredom, Alfred began planning out all the cool things he still had to show Lovino. They'd already seen the town, but not the beaches, so on one of his days off they'd have to spend the day there. He figured they could see the cliffs overlooking the town too. It really was the best place for boat-watching. Maybe Lovi would like the forest on the outskirts of town too? Alfred used to be afraid of them because Matthew convinced him they were haunted, but after he exposed it as a ruse to get him to behave, the Hero of Canton feared no pine tree! Ghosts still creeped him out, though.
"Alfred, are you even listening?!"
"Of course I am."
Arthur continued to ramble about this and that, while Alfred prayed he'd swiftly become deaf or his adoptive parent would suddenly become a mute. Neither happened and he was near tears by the third time Arthur made him take all the books off a shelf and resort them.
"Maybe we should try sorting by color…?" the librarian mused. "Hmm, no…Actually, I liked them the way they were. Alfred, put them back for me, please."
Eventually, his suffering was over and the library make-over was complete. Every book was in its place and each shelf was clearly labeled by genre and author. Arthur took note of Alfred's exhaustion and offered him a scone.
Alfred took a bite and realized his true suffering had only begun. He had become way too accustomed to Lovi's gourmet cooking.
"…Well, how do you like them? I tried a new recipe!"
"Oh, I can tell!"
"Alfred? …Alfred, are you crying?"
"I might be."
"What's wrong?!"
"I just really miss spending time with you, Dad…"
"Aww…!"
Smooth, Alfred. Very smooth.
oOo
Lovino returned home with a bag half-filled of tomatoes (he was hungry on the way back) and a pouch full of gold coins. He deposited both on the kitchen table and noticed a bird fluttering around the living room. Thinking it odd, he followed the bird and saw a complete stranger sitting on the couch, looking at the sketchbook Lovino had accidently left there earlier.
"Holy shit! A robber!" the brunette shrieked (in a very manly way) and took out his knife (which he never left home without now).
"E-Eh?! No!" the wavy-haired boy about his age, shot off the couch and waved his arms around. "I'm not a robber! I'm Matthew! Alfred's brother!"
His bird accomplice began zooming around the room madly. Lovino only lowered his knife when he recognized the name and saw the not-actually-a-robber's resemblance to Alfred.
"W-What are you doing here, bastard?"
"I was just dropping off a dessert and was hoping to meet Alfred's new roommate too," Matthew explained, slightly wincing at Lovino's choice of words. "I take it that's you, eh?
"Maybe," Lovino replied stubbornly. "What's the deal with your bird accomplice?"
"He actually belongs to my boyfriend, not me. Gilbird just likes to follow me around sometimes."
They were both able to calm down after that and sat across from each other in the living room. Lovino felt obligated to offer him a glass of water, since Matthew was technically his guest, but they each ended up grabbing their own drink (since the blonde knew where the cups were and didn't want to impose). Both chatted for a bit which created a question Lovino was just dying to ask.
"Are…Are you really Alfred's brother?" he tilted his head, scrutinizing the other. Sure the two blondes looked alike, but… "You're so different…"
Where Alfred was loud and outgoing, his brother was shy, polite, and soft-spoken.
"Sometimes, I can't believe it either!" laughed Matthew, stroking the now-calm bird perched on his shoulder. He looked like the world's most adorable pirate. "But even twins aren't always identical."
Lovino nodded, realizing that was a well-placed phrase to politely get more information out of him. Now he really had a hard time believing Alfred and Matthew were related. Sure, he and Feli had their differences, but they shared the same core principles – love for family and pasta, appreciation for the arts, and culinary skills to rival any chef. Regardless, he wanted to trust Alfred's brother, so he humored him.
"Yeah, my brother and I look alike, but we act very different too."
Matthew seemed happy that Lovi was willing to talk to him, so they chatted a bit more. The wavy-haired blonde explained his Maple Sugar Pie dessert to Lovino, who tried to think of a good dish to go with it for dinner. He settled on a simple ravioli dish and Matthew suggested a good store to get ingredients from. The blonde mentioned that it was on his way home, so he could point it out to Lovino if he wanted to go now. Lovi took him up on the offer and they headed out.
oOo
Despite his best efforts not to, Alfred ended up spending a good deal of time in the library bathroom. With Arthur sitting beside him at lunch, he had no choice but to finish his scone, lest he incur the wrath of the crazy librarian/amateur cook.
"Are you coming down with something?" Arthur asked after his son exited the bathroom. "You seemed healthy this morning."
"I was," came the weak reply.
"Well, I'll go make you some soup to go," the bushy-browed man offered.
"N-No! I mean, no, that's okay," Alfred insisted. "I feel a lot better after puking my guts up."
"Alfred, that's disgusting!" Arthur scolded him.
"Not as disgusting as your scones…" he muttered.
"What'd you say about my scones?!"
"You heard that?!"
"Of course I heard that! You couldn't speak quietly to save your own life, you git!"
"You're right! I'm too loud for the library!" Alfred took off. "I better let myself out!"
"Alfred F. Jones!" his guardian roared after him. "You get back here and apologize to me this instant!"
oOo
Matthew pointed out a store across the town square that he recommended to Lovino. He told him it was more like a general store, so it had a little bit of everything for reasonable prices. Lovino thanked him and they parted ways. As Lovino walked past the weapon shop, he couldn't help but glance in the windows. He marveled at the sleek, curved swords inside. They were unlike anything his grandfather had ever showed him. Interest piqued, he walked inside and met the owner of the weapons/blacksmith shop.
"Welcome," Kiku bowed and greeted him. He quickly recognized the brunette as Alfred's new roommate/potential life partner from his recent intel operation at Bluebell, but didn't let on. "Please let me know if you need help with anything."
"Can you tell me more about these blades?" Lovino asked, crouched in front of the window display. The sword set was beautiful. One was out of its sheath and polished so well, that Lovino could see his own reflection on the single-edged blade.
"You have very good taste," Kiku nodded as he walked over. "These are traditional swords from my homeland, Hisuiro, or the 'Iron Isles' as they are called here in the West."
"Never heard of it," Lovino couldn't take his eyes off the display. "Tell me more about the swords."
"The larger sword you see here is called a katana. High-ranking warriors often wear them on their side with a wakizashi, the medium sized sword, and the tanto, the knife," Kiku expected his customer to be done after that explanation, but Lovino had more questions.
"Why are they curved? And so slender?"
"Because in my homeland, close-combat has changed," Kiku smiled. "Swordsmen required blades that allowed for faster draw times. Fast responses are the key to victory."
"So you could draw the sword from your sheath and cut down an enemy in the same strike… Interesting." Lovino nodded, blaming his Nonno for his lack of normal hobbies and interests.
"Exactly," Kiku smiled, offering a blade to Lovino, who accepted it and examined it from every angle. It gleamed in the sunlight.
"It's light. Steel?"
"Yes, although other varieties exist too."
"How do you get the curve? I'm assuming you don't fold and weld the steel that way."
"Correct, that stage is far too early," the shopkeeper nodded. "That part comes after all the impurities are removed from the steel."
"I'm impressed that it holds a curve this nicely, especially steel," Lovino held the sword up. "It's not too soft or too hard. Cheh, that would only make it brittle."
"Most steel comes to me too soft or too hard," Kiku was enjoying the chance to talk shop with the surprisingly knowledgeable customer. "I have to further refine it to make it suitable for swords."
"Nice," the brunette nodded, setting the katana down and picking up the tanto knife. "How do they handle?"
"Well…" Kiku smiled. "Would you like a demonstration?"
oOo
Alfred fled the library and escaped his pissed off, tsundere of a father figure for now. As he jogged home, he ran into Matthew and Gilbert. Both were on the outskirts of a gathering crowd near Kiku's shop. His brother looked terrified while Gil looked excited, which made Alfred a little uneasy (and not just because he had eaten one of Arthur's scones). Alfred headed over to see what was going on and his jaw dropped.
Kiku raised his sword into the air and brought it down in a huge arc above Lovino. The brunette, deflected the slash with the Hisuiro-issued knife and quickly spun around the swordsman. Kiku, being used to fast close-quarters combat, brought his sword up to guard against Lovino's strike as he spun back on his toes.
Kiku parried each of Lovi's quick jabs and leapt backwards to create more distance. He brought his arms up to slice downwards, but was stopped by Lovino using the tanto on Kiku's blade and his hand under the swordsman's elbow to suspend the attack in the air. Just as Kiku twisted his other arm around for a counter-attack, Lovino had already jumped back and taken the offensive again. Sparks shot outwards as the two weapons clashed.
To the trained eye, Kiku and Lovino were sparring with a wakizashi and tanto to test each weapon out. To the untrained eye, the speed they were going at made it look like they were fighting each other to the death. Gilbert was shrieking about how awesome this was, while Matthew covered his eyes in fear. Gilbird excitedly flew in circles above both of them.
Normally, Alfred had an eye for these kinds of things, but with Lovino involved, he only saw danger. He instantly pushed past the onlookers and rushed into the middle of their sparring match (nearly losing an arm in the process).
"Kiku, stop! Stop!" he wildly waved his arms around. "Dude! That's too dangerous! He's just a little—"
"'Just a little' what, Alfred?" Lovino narrowed his eyes at the blonde.
"Er…" Alfred sweatdropped. Today was just not his day.
"Idiota!" the brunette snarled and started pummeling Alfred with the hilt of the dagger.
"It's okay, Alfred," the swordsman tried to pacify the two. As if he would ever do something to endanger the life(s) of Elizabeta's current OTP. Even with all his skills, he knew death would come for him swiftly in the form of an enraged pan-wielding yaoi fanatic. "It was just a sparring match."
"A what now?" Alfred was relieved Kiku wasn't trying to kill his best friend, but confused. Kiku rarely sparred with anyone.
"Just a sparring match," Kiku smiled to reassure him. "Lovino-kun is quite skilled!"
"Of course I am," Lovino twirled the dagger with ease. "I've been playing with knives since I was five!"
"Why does that not reassure me…?" Alfred grinned and sweatdropped. He got Lovino to stop twirling the dagger around by taking one of his hands to inspect it. He didn't seem to notice when he started tracing his thumb over Lovino's knuckles. "I'm amazed you still have all your fingers."
"Shut up, jackass!" the tsundere pulled his hand back, ignoring the rosy color his cheeks were turning.
"You must have had a good master, Lovino-kun."
"Just my Grandpa…" the brunette scratched his head. He didn't see what the big deal was.
"Lovino! Are you alright?" Matthew rushed forward, now that the crowd was dispersing and knocking people over was no longer necessary.
"I'm fine. Really."
"Hey, how come Mattie gets to fret over you and not get yelled at?" Alfred asked with a slight pout.
"Because he didn't barrel his way into the middle of a sparring match with sharp objects," Lovino snapped back at him.
"That was pretty awesome though, Lovi!" Gilbert grinned. "I didn't know you had it in you!"
Lovino could feel a vein pulsing in his forehead.
"I grew up in a bad part of town! My Grandpa was a blacksmith! Why is this so surprising to you all?!" he exploded. "And stop calling me Lovi!"
Meanwhile the crowd around them was chattering excitedly about Alfred's houseguest. Rumors from 'secret assassin' to 'pirate' to 'reincarnated warrior' started spreading about Lovino.
oOo
A/N
I just can't keep Lovi away from knives! Not in this or Irresistible and Oblivious! I can't help it. Something about him with a blade is just…nevermind. ^/^
As a side-note, several of Lovi's lines at the food stand are based off of recipes and notes from Thug Kitchen, which is just as hilarious as it sounds. I can't look at recipes from that site without hearing it in Lovino's voice, but that is one problem to have.
~Rajikka
Translations
Bastardo (It.) – "Bastard"
Gracias (Sp.) – "Thank you"
Tsundere (Jp.) – Arthur Kirkland. Haha, just kidding. (sort of.) A tsundere is 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. Iggy and Lovi are two good examples of this character.
Idiota (It.) – "Idiot"
Hisuiro (Jp.) – Taken from Hisui (jade) and Ro (forge, as in smithy or furnace), so you end up with "Jade Forge." In this fic, that chain of northeast islands are sometimes called the 'Iron Isles' because of all the metal-working done there.
Nonno (It.) – "Grandpa"
Katana, Wakizashi, and Tanto (Jp.) – Various Japanese swords, listed from longest (of these three) to shortest.
-kun (Jp.) – Term of endearment or familiarity, this one is often used for boys. Lovi impressed Kiku so much that they went to a first name basis quickly.
OTP (Eng.) - "One True Pairing" Some people have one couple they adore above all others and some people have several. It varies. It's technically not a foreign word, but I've had people ask about it before.
