CHAPTER THREE: Family
As Lovino was clambering down the orchard hill, he realized the slight stupidity of the action he was about to do. He was taking this kid, an orange thief, into his house, with no questions whatsoever. Sure, he seemed like a nice guy, friendly enough. Actually, he seemed too friendly. Why is he this happy, by the way? Lovino turned around to glance at Antonio, and saw him chatting happily away with Feliciano about the fantastic ways that Grandpa can make pasta, and how Italian pasta is probably the greatest thing in existence. Antonio was listening intently, nodding and chirping in about his favorite pasta ingredients, the greatest being the tomato. Lovino turned back around, feeling like he may have made a bad choice, but if the kid turns out to be nothing more than a thief, he can just kick him in the balls and send him packing. Smiling to himself about his plan, he began to pick up the pace.
As they reached the bottom of the hill, with the back of the house only a few yards away, another doubt crept into his mind. How the hell were they going to convince Grandpa to let Antonio live with them? He stopped, and was about to voice his question aloud, when his brother beat him to it.
"So Lovi, what's the plan?" Feliciano chirped, placing his hands in his jean's pockets and leaning forwards a bit. Lovino blinked, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well I was kind of just planning on a spectacular entrance, something along the lines of 'Hey Grandpa! I found a new pet, can we keep him?' but he'd probably ask if the pet was neutered or not". Antonio's eyes widened and he moved his hands towards his pelvic area protectively. Feliciano struggled to keep his giggles in, but failed pretty miserably.
"Well, we could always just walk in and explain what happened." Feliciano said, "We could say how we found Toni and what he told us. Would that work?"
Lovino nodded slightly and bit his thumbnail in concentration. "That would be the best way to go about it. Should we explain what happened, and then show Grandpa Antonio, or should we bring him in all at once?"
"What would you prefer, Toni?" Feliciano tilted his head towards the Spaniard.
"I would think it would be better if… probably if one of you goes in first." He replied.
"Fair enough. Feli you go in first. You have the best chance of convincing him to let him stay. You have pretty much mastered the art of the puppy-dog eyes, so use that talent. If that even is a talent." Feliciano smirked, and started to skip into the house. Lovino and Antonio slowly made their way to the back porch. Lovino heard some sort of odd noise coming from behind him. It sounded like someone was trying to hum a stupid theme song. Turning around, he discovered that his fears were recognized, and Antonio indeed, was trying to hum a stupid theme song. He also was doing some incredibly idiotic movements, what Lovino assumed to be "cool-looking spy moves".
"What the fuck are you doing?" Lovino asked, his voice totally deadpan.
Antonio looked up, a completely innocent look plastered on his face. He smiled, and placed his finger to his mouth in a "shush" motion. "I feel like were supposed to be secretive. Like a spy in the movies or something. Plus it's just kinda fun." He gave a little giggle noise, and turned back towards the door. Lovino rolled his eyes, and for some reason his face began to flush. He pondered at the heat rising in his cheeks, when he heard his brother's voice from inside the house.
"...And so, this is the boy we found! Come on in Antonio."
Antonio and Lovino looked at each other, and Lovino noticed Antonio was actually kind of scared. He grabbed Antonio's hand and squeezed it slightly, then punched him on the arm and led him inside the house.
They entered the living room and found Grandpa sitting in one of their old couches from their previous home. As they walked in, Grandpa stood up and leisurely meandered over to them. Feliciano bounded around behind him.
"Antonio! This is Grandpa! You can call him Grandpa Rome. Grandpa, this is Antonio" Grandpa nodded sternly, not giving Feliciano a reply. Antonio stiffened, and stared Grandpa straight in the eye. He stuck out his hand politely.
"Hello sir. My name is Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. Feliciano has told you of my predicament, sí?" Grandpa didn't answer, merely glanced up and down Antonio, as if studying him. Antonio swallowed, but did not waver in his gaze. Grandpa stared at him, then leaned in closer to Antonio's face. Antonio's eyes widened, and he took a small step back. Grandpa frowned, backed away, and started circling Antonio, like a shark circling a helpless little seal.
"Feliciano tells me Lovino found you asleep out in our orchard, yes?" He asked, glaring at the boy without blinking.
Antonio stood up as straight as he could. "Yes sir, I had fallen asleep outside, for my afternoon siesta, when Lovino had found me."
Grandpa nodded thoughtfully. "And you have often spent your nights there after you started living by yourself?"
"Yes. I had no other home to go to. So I slept outdoors. I meant no harm by sleeping in your orchard, I would even water the trees I swear."
"Oh I don't really care about the oranges," Grandpa flicked his hand through the air, as if swiping away a fly. "I'm more concerned as to why you didn't go and live with other family members." He stopped circling Antonio and settled in front of him, bending over and placing his hands on his knees. He had a confused look on his face, with his head cocked to the side.
Antonio gulped, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well sir, after my parents died, they tried to find a home for me. But all my other relatives, and there were a lot, simply refused to take me in. They had all disowned my parents, and then me as well." He let out a nervous little laugh.
Grandpa leaned back in surprise. "What could they have disowned your entire family for? That's completely outrageous, you're family, they can't just leave you."
"Well, sir. My parents, they were…" Antonio paused, struggling to put his thoughts into words. "My family is made up of incredibly catholic people. And they follow their teachings zealously. And well, my parents. They were both men. And my family was unaccepting of that." Antonio had a sad sort of smile on his face. Grandpa only had a look of what could be described as distaste.
"Oh. Well I guess I see where they're coming from," At these words Lovino's heart gave a little skip, though he didn't know why. "But it's not like it's your fault that they were what they were. In any case, we can't as well just leave you on the street. If you wish, you may stay with us." Grandpa opened his arms for a hug and drew Antonio in. Antonio's face was pale, though, like he had just seen someone die. Then, if it was even possible, it blanched even more. Apparently something Grandpa had said scared him. However, Antonio pulled himself together, and eventually returned the hug with shaking arms. Lovino stood to the side, scanning every single movement the two made, trying to figure out what it was that was happening. He had no clue as to what had Antonio so scared, or why Grandpa had such a threatening smile as he pulled away from the hug and patted, or squished depending on how you looked at it, Antonio's head.
"Alright boys! The movers have pretty much already dealt with everything. I'll start on dinner now. Guess what Feli, it's your favorite!" Grandpa gave Feliciano a wink, who smiled and jumped over and gave Grandpa a hug. Feliciano followed Grandpa into the kitchen area, and left Antonio and Lovino in the living room. Lovino perched on the arm of the couch and played with a wayward strand of his hair.
"So what made you turn into a white-faced wuss all of a sudden, Antonio?" He asked.
Antonio started, and chuckled. "You noticed that, huh? You've got keen eyes. He just told me…" he paused, and looked at the orchard. "That if I ever stole from him again I would be castrated with a rusty spoon." He let out a laugh, a noise that would have almost passed at normal, except it was a bit too forced.
Lovino noticed this, and mumbled "Liar" under his breath. Antonio couldn't hear this though, and he started wandering around the room.
"It's a really pretty house you have! Ahh, I must wonder where I am going to be sleeping. It is one of the most important aspects of living. Well at least to me!" Lovino rolled his eyes at this ludicrous statement, and pointed to the couch he was sitting on.
"Seeing as we only have two beds at the moment, you'll be sleeping here. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, okay mister?"
Antonio nodded vigorously, and clacked his heels together and saluted Lovino. "Yes sir, mister boss man sir! Wait, no I want to be the boss. Not fair." Antonio gave a sort of pout, and closely resembled a small puppy being withheld from a treat. Lovino struggled to contain laughter, and placed a hand over his mouth. What a weird kid. He thought.
"Sorry, my house, my rules, I'm boss." Lovino gave a little smirk and stuck his tongue out like the ten year old he was. Antonio scrunched up his nose, and marched over to Lovino and poked Lovino in the stomach repeatedly.
"Lovi! Not fair, I wanna be the boss. Wait what are you doing?" Lovino had started to squirm, and was holding his hand firmly over his mouth.
"Don't poke my stomach, it feels weird, you bastard!" In retaliation, Lovino poked, though a bit more forcefully, into Antonio's stomach. Antonio moved to the side with a giggle. A light bulb went off in Antonio's head, and he stared at Lovino with a mischievous grin. Lovino jerked back.
"What are you smiling at?" Antonio raised his arms and wiggled his fingers menacingly. Lovino pieced together Antonio's idea, and started to back away onto the couch. "Don't you dare start tickling me you little shit!" He tried to run away, but because of the way he was sitting, he simply fell onto the couch. Antonio quickly moved around to the side and clambered on top of Lovino, and started to violently tickle him to death. Lovino put up a valiant fight, trying to land in a few jabs here and there, but to no avail. Soon Lovino was drowning in waves of laughter, and his face turned bright red. Antonio laughed and sat up on Lovino's legs.
"You kinda look like a tomato right now." Antonio jumped off the couch, brushed himself off, and faced Lovino with the most innocent smile he could muster. Lovino however, was sprawled quite gracefully, on the couch. He took a second to collect his breath and stop his face from flushing, then in a quick procession of movements, grabbed Antonio, slammed him onto the couch and pinned him down.
"You little shit, you're gonna get tickled till you die of asphyxia." He smirked, and raised his hand to prepare to murder the kid, when a voice called from the kitchen.
"Lovino! Antonio! Dinner is ready, come and get it!" Feliciano came bounding out from the hallway to find Lovino giving him a glare. Feliciano glanced quickly from him to Antonio, who was practically begging Feliciano to come save him. Feliciano put the pieces together, and jumped up and down ecstatically.
"Oh! It's a tickle fight I see, can I join! Lovino I'm gonna go tickle you come here!"
Lovino scrambled off of Antonio and tried to escape to the kitchen, but Feliciano blocked the way. Lovino whirled around to escape through the back door, but Antonio had managed to jump off of the couch and block his way.
"No way amigo. You are not escaping from the tag team Feli and Toni!" Antonio half growled, a smirk growing on his face. Lovino blanched, and stumbled backwards.
"Shit oh fuck I'm so dead."
With those words, Antonio and Feliciano set upon Lovino, who scrambled around and ran down the hallway towards the front door. They chased Lovino out the front door, when Lovino had the idea of running out around to the back of the house and going through the back porch to the kitchen and safety. He laughed as he sprinted, thankful for the Italian gene of being able to run fast as fuck away from anything potentially fatal. He could hear the jittery running of his younger brother, and a deep, booming laugh that seemed to be Antonio's. You little fuckers aren't getting me. Not today. Lovino thought, as he put on an extra burst of speed. He rounded the back corner of the house and jumped up onto the back porch. As he opened the sliding glass door, he noticed Antonio turning the corner. Antonio realized Lovino's plan, and his green eyes grew wide with defeat. Lovino barked a laugh, and sprinted inside. He dashed straight for the kitchen, and once he located a chair, slid onto the seat and sat there, catching his breath. Grandpa, who was apparently at the stove, whirled around at the sound of clattering chairs and discovered three sweating children gasping for breath at his dinner table. He blinked, then laughed, placing his hands on his hips.
" You all look like you just ran in a bull fight! What did you do chase each other around the house?" He said, turning back to the stove to bring the food to the table. The boys looked at each other, still slightly struggling to breath. Antonio was the first to crack, then Feliciano, and finally Lovino. They all ended up laughing as hard as they possibly could, clutching at their stomachs and yet again struggling to breathe. After a full four minutes of straight laughter, they managed to settle down. Grandpa shook his head, and set all the food on the table.
After all the food was finished, and all the dishes were cleaned and put away, it was around that time where everyone's eyelids began to droop and yawns escaped from mouths. It didn't help that they were all tuckered out from running everywhere, so Grandpa ordered an early bedtime, to which no one disagreed. Lovino left the kitchen and gestured for Antonio to follow.
He walked over to one of the many boxes that were scattered about from the move and pulled out a fist full of blankets and pillows. He turned and shoved the pile into Antonio's chest.
"This enough for you?" Antonio sort of stumbled back but he caught himself and held the menagerie of bedding items and nodded. Lovino gave Antonio a quick "Night" and turned to go to his room, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. Turning around, he was quickly pulled into a squishing hug.
"Thank you for all of this. You are a good person," Antonio said, just barely above a whisper. He pulled away and smiled at Lovino, who stammered through a "Thank you."
"Just go to bed, you idiot," and he marched upstairs.
He reached his room and quietly shut his door. Yawning, he walked over to the pile of boxes labeled "clothes" and rummaged for pajamas. He managed to find a raggedy shirt and shorts, and quickly changed his clothes. Just before he was about to scramble into his bed, he heard a soft knocking on his door.
"Yeah, what is it?" He called out. The door opened, and in came Feliciano, holding a pillow.
"Hey, brother? Is Antonio gonna be sleeping downstairs, all by himself? I don't think that's so great." He clutched the pillow tighter and looked down. Lovino thought about it for a bit.
"He's old enough to sleep by himself he'll be fine." He said, and started to clamber into his bed. Feliciano walked over and gently started tugging on Lovino's sleeve.
"But he's going to be all alone downstairs, in the dark. He's probably all scared and stuff. Plus he hasn't slept in a house for a while, and it'll probably be weird." Lovino turned around, his mouth opening to chastise him for being a baby, when he saw the face his brother was making. Shit not the frigging puppy eyes. Lovino tried to avoid his brother's pleading face, but he just couldn't handle it. He groaned, and then crawled out of bed.
'Fine fine, we'll go. God you and your stupid face." Lovino grabbed his pillow and Feliciano's arm and dragged him back down the stairs. Feliciano beamed, and pulled ahead and started skipping down the staircase.
"Yay! I'll meet you down there, first I have to go to the bathroom." He said as he reached the bottom step and rounded the corner to the bathroom in the hallway. Lovino sighed, and trudged down the bottom of the steps. He was nearing the living room where Antonio was, when he heard Antonio's voice drifting through the halls. Once or twice, Lovino heard his name being said. Lovino slowly moved closer, trying to listen in to what Antonio was saying about him. It seemed to be that Antonio was praying.
"…was just sleeping there, peacefully when he kicked me awake. Boy did he look mad! I thought I was going to die simply by being glared at. I tried to run away, but I ended up just falling flat on my face. Way to go graceful me!" Lovino heard Antonio give out a breathy little laugh.
"Anyways, we ended up talking for a bit, and I let it slip that I didn't have a home. Lovi had the most dumbfounded look on his face, and he kept going on about how it wasn't right. Then he just kind of dragged me by the hand towards his house and said 'You can live with us'. I thought I was dreaming, but I wasn't! Lovi was dead serious; he wasn't going to leave me out there. He didn't leave me." Lovino heard the growing smile in Antonio's voice, and slowly walked around the corner and leaned up against the wall. Antonio was kneeling against the couch, his head resting against his clasped hands.
" I found a great family today. Even though Señor Roma scares me to death, I really wish to stay. He didn't leave me, so I will not leave him. Absolutely" Antonio finished his prayer and stretched. Lovino meandered into the room, and smacked Antonio over the head with his pillow. Antonio flailed his arms a bit whirled around to see Lovino looking up at the ceiling.
"… Better not leave." Lovino mumbled. Antonio looked confused, and cocked his head to the side like a puppy. Lovino shook his head, and threw his pillow on the floor. Feliciano then bounded into the room and threw his pillow next to his brothers.
"We are here to save you from the scary darkness, Toni!" He chirped. Lovino snatched a blanket from the couch and settled down on the floor.
"Feliciano, so help me god, if you kick me in your sleep I will drown you."
"I don't wanna drown! Lovi don't drown me. I can't help it if I kick! I'm unconscious I can't control my limbs." Feliciano flailed his arms for emphasis. Antonio laughed.
"You both just never cease to surprise me. It's great. Thank you." Antonio quickly got up from the couch and ran over to hug Feliciano, then rounded back and opened his arms to Lovino. Lovino simply curled up under a protective blanket and started to fake snore. Antonio laughed, and patted Lovino's shoulder.
"Okay, good night everyone!" Antonio said, and he clambered onto the couch. Everyone shuffled their blankets and pillows for a good while, until they finally found their confortable spot. The first to fall asleep was Feliciano, then Antonio, and finally Lovino. The three slept peacefully through out the night, and all was well.
((AN: wow okay really long wait here, like what a month? Sorry about that. School and stuff. Welp. yup here's this chapter. Fluffy tickle fights and yay))