The sun pouring through the window woke Feliciano up. He lay gazing up at the primrose painted ceiling, thinking back over the previous night's events. He had arrived at Antonio's home just in time for supper. Driving from the train station in a taxi, polite conversation between him and his guardian Roderich became harder and harder to find. The busy Spanish streets flashed past the car in never-ending rows of other cars and bikes. As the taxi rocketed down narrow back streets and up sharp hills, Feliciano couldn't help comparing it with the warm streets of his beloved home Venice he had only left that previous night. Much as he loved Venice, Spain was a land that was very special to him.
Feliciano had only caught a fleeting impression of the large grey manor house that was to be his home for the next few days. It was not until he really explored the next morning that he realized how beautiful the old house was.
Antonio's home stood in its own grounds, hidden from the road by high fences lined with tomato bushes. At the rear, the kitchen gardens swept down a slope that ended in rough long grass. And then you were on the cliffs with the Spanish bay below you.
Feliciano sighed and rolled over on to his stomach. It seemed such a shame that this wonderful house should only be used by Antonio and the occasional visitor. It was centered round a large oak-paneled hall with all the other rooms leading from it. A vast staircase ran down each side of the hall and a long gallery swept round above, joining the two flights. Antonio was the owner who had inherited it from a long lost family member and he was known to go and stay with his friends Francis and Gilbert whenever he got the chance. Feliciano had known Antonio for years and liked him immensely, feeling dreadfully sorry that his family weren't staying in his beautiful house. Feli glanced over to where just the top of Roderich's dark chocolate hair could be seen from under the bed-sheets. He had only given his guardian a vague reason as to why he had decided to visit Antonio and it was surprising that Roderich hadn't pressed him for more details. But Feli knew he wasn't satisfied with half-truths and would wish to know the real reason in great detail very soon.
Over by the door on the other side of the room Roderich's wife Elizabeta lay, curled up like a cat, still fast asleep. To Feli's delight the bedrooms were small and not dormitories like he had feared. He and his guardian's were on the top floor with Antonio's room below them. There were plenty of rooms for the trio to have stayed in, but Feli had a fear of being alone and always requested at least one of his guardians would stay with him.
Feli swung his legs out of bed and padded silently to the window. He gazed out in delight as he had done the previous night and beyond the cliffs he could see the dark blue line of the horizon where sea and sky met. The sea was flat and blue again and a faint haze in the sky heralded the beginning of yet another sunny day in Spain.
Behind him, Roderich stirred and rolled over, rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses. He gazed around him, bewildered for a moment, before sighing in content and getting up to walk over to his wife.
"Wake up, Elizabeta. I must say it is a gorgeous day today-"
"Si, and it's Sunday so we can go to the beach~!" Feli cheered, whooping and pirouetting round the room in his pyjamas, ending up bang on Elizabeta's back.
"I'm hungry," said Elizabeta practically, yawning loudly.
"Don't mention that word or else..." whatever Roderich had been going to say was lost as a thunderous knock on the door announced the arrival of Antonio and Gilbert.
"If my guests can stir themselves, breakfast is ready. Gilbert, Francis and I are due to go swimming if Feliciano would like to join us," came Antonio's shout. He could never lie in bed and were always up indecently early in Roderich's opinion.
Before anyone could reply, the door was bust open and the silver haired boy had instantly tackled Roderich to the ground with a distinct laugh.
"Kessessesse, Roderich old man~ Good to see you could make it to the top of the stairs~"
"Ja, well Gilbert, if you don't quit it with the 'old man' thing, i'll make it so you're at the bottom of those stairs in record time." The Austrian snapped, looking up at his wife for assistance.
Despite this, Elizabeta's interests were not on her husband as they usually were, they were on Feli. The Italian boy was staring out of the window, un-moving, a serious expression painted on his face as with every breath came his vocal tic 've'.
"Feli?" She asked, tapping his shoulder and pausing when she noticed a young boy staring up at their window. Mirroring Feliciano, a frown adorned her expression and she began to ramble on in a series of incoherent cheers as she closed the curtains.
"Now then, no need for peeping toms is there, Feli?"
The Italian shook his head, smiling at Antonio and once again beginning a series of pirouettes around the Spaniard as he cheered, "We're going to the beach~ We're going to the beach~"
Antonio could merely watch in silence as Roderich and Elizabeta struggled to remove Gilbert from the room and the sound of Feliciano's chanting filled his ears. He paled, having seen the same boy as Elizabeta and Feliciano and quickly and quietly exiting the room. Only one name popped into his head as he grabbed his jacket from the hallway.
Lovino
He had snuck out once again. The Italian knew better than anyone what trouble awaited him if he got caught and the first port of call he felt he had to make was to Antonio. Upon seeing the guest rooms curtains open, he'd assumed Francis or Gilbert was staying over.
At first, he thought of throwing pebbles at the window to get their attention, then went against it as he found he was being stared at quietly through the window by a younger boy. He must have been at least a year younger than him, with similar brown hair and a curl that suspiciously stuck out just as his own did. Strange...since when was Antonio with people other than himself, Gilbert and Francis?! Lovino was dumbstruck, did this mean he was being replaced?! With six days until his eighteenth birthday?! The Italian whimpered at the thought, running off to the cliffs which linked Antonio and Romulus' homes together. He wished to be by the sea, no matter how dangerous it was for him...
After breakfast was over and a long hour had been spent tidying bedrooms and writing letters home, Feliciano, Gilbert, Roderich and Elizabeta dragged on their shorts over swimming costumes and invaded the kitchen for packed picnic lunches. Then, armed with a huge selection of food, cushions, each balls and books they raced down the garden and scrambled down the cliff path to stake out their favourite part of the beach before anyone else arrived.
The small bay was deserted. "I suppose people are allowed on the beach," said Roderich, gazing up at the surrounding cliffs.
"Mr Vargas doesn't own the bay. I asked Antonio." Gilbert chimed, ruffling the Austrians hair to simply wind him up.
"We should put up a large notice at the top of the cliffs saying, Private- Keep off. Large dog." mused Elizabeta, covering herself with sun-tan oil.
"I think the smell of that stuff is enough to put anyone off," remarked Gilbert, wrinkling his pale nose in disgust. Elizabeta threw a handful of sand at him and chased him down into the sea.
"That girl's energy..." Roderich mumbled to himself aghast, burying himself into the warm sand to relax.
Feliciano laughed and then stopped, seeing a brown haired boy dashing along the cliff tops. He began to yell and swung his towel energetically above his head, but although the boy turned and saw him, he hurried off along the cliff top then disappeared into the shadows.
"Don't start trying to talk to strangers, Feliciano." Roderich scolded, eyes closed despite apparently seeing him.
Feli sighed and watched as the boy grew smaller and smaller, his eyes allowing him to see quite far and into darkness without a problem.
"Roderich, what's around the other side of that cliff, is there anything special?"
The Austrian screwed up his eyes in thought. "No. Just rocks I think. No. I'm wrong. There's a stretch of sand but nothing much to look at. I suppose it's a nice area to be alone."
"There's another one who likes being on his own," said Francis as walked towards the duo. He pointed to where Antonio's slim figure could be seen loping across the top of the cliff.
"I was going to ask him to come join us, seeing he's the one who invited us," said Feli, who hadn't seen much of Antonio since about an hour back.
"He's probably going down to the town for a newspaper," said Roderich dismissively, "Now do shut up and let me relax, would you?"
The morning passed slowly by in a round of swimming and sunbathing. They ate their lunch ravenously, Gilbert wistfully eyeing the others' sandwiches when he had finished his.
"I do wish you'd look the other way," complained Roderich crossly. "you're making me feel I should give you one, and seeing you've eaten double my amount already I don't see why I should. You're a pig, Gilbert Beilschmidt."
"Getting fat too," put in Francis, idly poking his friend in the stomach.
Feli jumped up before the row broke and pulled on his shorts over his swimming costume. "Before that argument breaks out, i'm going to walk round the cove and go back over the cliffs for a while~! Anybody coming~?" He asked sweetly, looking at Francis and Gilbert mainly.
Francis stared at him in horror and announced solemnly, "it's the heat, friends. It's turned his head. Walk round the cove, up those cliffs. I'd rather die."
"Yeah," Gilbert butted in, "Roderich's going to have to carry me back as it is."
The others laughed, choking on their lunch at Roderich's horrified expression. Feli grinned, and snatching up his shoes and towel, he set off down to the water's edge to paddle round to the cliff edge. He vaguely heard Elizabeta shouting something after him but was too far away to hear. He turned and waved. Knowing Elizabeta she was probably warning him against climbing the rocks or going out too far by himself. Elizabeta was always worrying.
The sea ran silvery over his feet as he lazily strolled along watching his footprints fill with water and vanish behind him as the tide rolled over them. Coming to an area where he had to climb he covered his arms with his towel and scrambled up over them until he reached the top. He hesitated for a second, standing perched precariously on the wet seaweed-covered boulders, gazing out at the water that was now flecked with white as the wind began to blow harder. He gazed round the next cove, disappointed. There was a stretch of silvery sand but the rocks were high and forbidding and not at all pretty. No one would want to be in that area.
"Oh, I was hoping to see that boy...I wouldn't have bothered to clamber all the way round here if I didn't think he wasn't here. I should have more sense than to follow strange boys around...it sounds weird." He gazed back the way he had come. Most of the beach was hidden from view round the side of the cliff. He could just see Roderich who was packing up the picnic things. The others were out of sight. Feli frowned. It was a long way back. He paddled round the tiny cove and scrambled up over more rocks and boulders to find himself in an even smaller, narrower cove, running back farther into the cliffs between high, towering slopes. There was no path leading up from the sand so he would have to go back after all. He sat down crossly to get his breath back. The wind was blowing harder round this side of the cliffs causing Feli to hug his knees up to his chin and gaze out at the continually moving sea.
"It's cold..." he mumbled sadly, shaking his head in defeat before an idea came to him. Rubbing his hands together he scrambled to his feet, finding bits of driftwood around and placing it in a pile before him. Giving a grin, the Italian boy blew on the wood, it instantly catching on fire and providing temporary warmth. Using this, he allowed the flames to lick at his fingertips and he relished in its warmth until he heard footsteps. Turning his head, he was greeted by olive green eyes and a gasp. It was the boy from before!
What was he going to say upon seeing Feliciano's deadly secret? How did he set the wood on fire?! Deep down, Lovino could sense there was something different about this boy...something familiar.
"I-I can explain-!" Feliciano jumped to his feet, worry evident in his expression and tears pricked his eyes, "Please don't tell anyone!"
"You..." Lovino began, staring the younger Italian in the eyes, "You...are like me."
A click, a spark.
Two coloured flames danced together as one.
A new friendship was born.
A newborn bond which was already broken.