Ve ... I have nuffin' to say except I love you guys ^_^
NekoRoma
Chapter Fourteen: Depression, Hatred and Love
Antonio finally came back and took care of the woman and her daughter, by sending a note back to Ludwig that his next appointment was here, then he crouched down in front of Lovino.
"Lovi? Are you okay?" he grabbed Lovino's hand and caressed it softly.
Lovino looked at him and glared, "I'm fine, bast-Antonio …" he muttered, knowing a little girl was within earshot, "Go away …"
The man shook his head, "No … not until you smile …"
A glare.
"When do I ever smile for you?" he hissed. Antonio grinned, "There's the Lovi I know~! I'm about to take my lunch break, so you and Feliciano can head to the break room. It's just down the hall and it's the door with these words on it." he handed Lovino a piece of paper with 'BREAK ROOM' written on it. "If anyone walks in, just tell them you're with me, okay?"
Lovino nodded and stood up. Feliciano walked into his carrier and waited for Lovino to close the door and pick it up.
He walked to the room and opened the door, finding a few vending machines and a little fridge and some tables. He set the carrier down and let Feliciano out.
"How come you get in that thing so willingly?" Lovino asked, sitting on the same table.
'Ve-meow~! Because every time I do, I get to go somewhere cool~!' Feliciano licked his paw and rubbed his ear, 'Oh~! Are you and Toni like Gilbert and the vet?'
"What do you mean?" Lovino asked, staring at his brother.
'Mating, silly! Are you two mates?'
Lovino's face became scarlet red, "Wh-what gave y-you that idea?"
Feliciano tilted his head, 'Because he's so nice to you and likes your smile and held your hand … Gilbert says things like that to the vet when he's sad, too … they even press their lips together like human mates do~! Does Toni do that to you?'
"N-no! Why the hell would I mate with him? I can get a way better mate than that!" Lovino rubbed his cheeks and frowned, knowing he was kind of attracted to Antonio, "Besides, he has a mate …" he muttered, feeling that sharp pain return to his heart from before. The stabbing pain in his heart that only came around when Antonio paid attention to Roderich or Feliciano.
'Ve-meow …' Feliciano meowed sadly, 'I'm sorry … I … you want to be his mate … don't you?'
Lovino blushed again. Did he? Did he want Antonio to hold him tightly like he did with Roderich? To press their lips together lovingly? Did he want to be Antonio's mate? He shook his head, "No, of course not!" he whispered.
'I want to be human, too … so that Luddy would want to mate with me …' Feliciano curled up.
Lovino growled, forgetting about his own problems, "Why would you want to mate with that potato? That's disgusting!"
'Ve-meow~! He's nice to me! He pets me and lets me sleep on his bed and even sneaks me food off of his own plate~! He doesn't let Aster or Blackie or Berlitz eat off his plate~! He only scolds me when I sharpen my claws on his couch~ and he was talking out loud the other night to himself … and me … that he needed to settle down with a mate~! I want to be that mate! But I have to be human, too! How did you do it, Lovi?'
The brother contemplated lying, but his brother … a cat … was in love with a human … and as much as he hated the potato freak for giving him away … he kind of wanted to be selfish and have an actual human brother instead of a cat one.
"Fine! But only because I want a human brother!" Lovino frowned, "Look for the brightest star at night and wish to become human. An angel named Arthur is supposed to come grant your wish, but don't fall asleep or it won't come true …" he felt like a child telling a friend some childish story.
'Ve-meow~! Thank you, brother!' the cat jumped up happily and licked Lovino's nose and pressing his nose onto each cheek, 'I'll make my wish when I get back home to Luddy!'
Lovino nodded. The door opened and Antonio walked in.
"Hey Lovi~, hey Feli~!" he sat down and pulled out a bag, "I made some Paella for lunch, I hope you don't mind Lovi~"
Lovino shook his head, "No … it's not terrible … mama told me she was an Italian cat, so that makes me Italian after all …"
"Which explains your accent~!" Antonio smiled, "Cool~!"
"Yeah … and Feliciano wants to become human, too …"
Antonio looked at him, not sure whether to be happy or fear for that, "Not under my watch, right? I don't think I could afford to pay for another false ID and new clothes … though it would be cute to have you both living under my roof~!"
Lovino felt the sharp stab of pain again, "No … he said he wants to wait until he goes back to the potato's house."
Antonio smiled, "Okay~ I wish you luck on that, Feli~!" Feliciano mewed and walked into his carrier to nap.
The door opened and Ludwig walked in, "Oh, hello Antonio … who's this?"
"Um … my friend from Italy, Romano … I couldn't leave him alone at the apartment so I brought him to work … I hope that's okay?"
Ludwig nodded, "East mentioned your friend, and no I don't mind. How's Feliciano been this morning? He's usually finicky when it's not me lately …"
"Romano has a way with animals~! He's been calm and quiet all morning and afternoon~!"
Lovino glared at Ludwig, wishing he were still a cat so that he could claw the man's eyes out. Feliciano was already rubbing against the man's hands, wanting to be loved.
Ludwig smiled and petted the cat, "Well, I came to say good bye to Feliciano, since I'm off to catch my flight. I'll see you in a week, okay Feliciano. Be good. And don't sharpen your claws on Antonio's couch."
Feliciano cried out sadly for Ludwig as the man took his leave, 'Ve-meow … come back …'
Lovino rubbed his brother's ears, "Hey … he'll be back in a few days, okay?" the cat mewed sadly and climbed back into his carrier.
The next three days were strange. Lovino got to see his mama a few more times before she went back to her new owners. Antonio refused to let Roderich over and Feliciano had become a depressed ball of fur.
Lovino stared at him on the edge of the bed, watching another one of his favorite shows. Antonio was in the shower, which Lovino finally managed to get the hang of.
The cell phone lying on the night stand went off again for the third time in the hour Antonio had been in the bathroom and Lovino leaned over, grabbing it. He didn't know what the name said, as Antonio only taught him simple things so far, like the alphabet and some of the letter's pronunciation, but the picture was of Roderich.
"Ugh …" he set the phone back down and rolled over, "I hate that man."
'Hate who?' Feliciano looked at him.
"Roderich … Antonio's mate …" Lovino said, bitterly. His heart throbbed painfully again and he growled, curling up in a ball.
The bathroom door opened and Antonio walked out, dressed up to sleep. He grabbed the phone just in time for the last ring, "Hello?"
"Hey Roderich … no, I'm not busy … just about to sleep, really, cat sitting Feliciano … I know I haven't talked to you much … no … no, I'm sorry …" Lovino fake gagged, causing Feliciano to snicker for the first time in three days.
"I do miss you … no … it's not that … I've just been busy … with Feliciano and Lovino … yes, I still have him … because he's my best friend … Roderich … no, I didn't pick the cat over you …"
Lovino's interest peaked and he bit his lip, tuning out the show and listening intently to the conversation.
"He's actually calmed down quite a bit since the last time you saw him~! Well … no you … no you can't come see … he's … he's sick … no, that's not the reason he's calm! Feliciano might have given him something, I don't know … he just got it … oh … okay then … good night … um … l-love you, too … bye …" he hung up the phone, unaware of Lovino listening closely.
Lovino's heart thumped hard against his chest, in pain. Why did it do this? Why did it go haywire when Antonio talked to Roderich or messages Roderich or talked to Gilbert about Roderich?
He felt tears well up in his eyes, but he brushed them away, not even sure why the hell they were showing up anyway.
Feliciano nudged his hand, 'Ve-meow … you do love Tonio … don't you …?'
Lovino shoved his brother off the bed and buried his face in the pillow. He felt Feliciano jumped back on the bed and curl up at his feet and begin purring.
Antonio muttered a good night.
Lovino didn't want to go to sleep for two reasons. Every night since waking up as a human cat hybrid, he'd had the nightmare that scared him awake. Antonio asked about it, but Lovino never told him about it. He didn't want to relive that nightmare again, especially since reason two was keeping him awake. His chest was hurting, and not just because of the coughing he'd acquired every night and morning, but because of the way it felt like his heart was being squeezed.
Against his wishes, Lovino finally fell asleep, only to fall victim to the nightmare and wake up coughing.
He sat up in the bed, glad he hadn't woken up Antonio with the coughing this time and reached to the night stand beside him for the water Antonio always made sure was there. He coughed hard, pain shooting through his chest and he sipped the water.
It was odd … since when did the water taste metallic like that? He shrugged it off and set the glass down, licking his lips and going back to sleep. Now that the nightmare was gone, he'd have normal dreams the rest of the night.
USUK or RusAme? trying to decide for a sister fic to my other story Kismet ... o.o there's a poll on my profile if you prefer to vote there~
~Lady Pyrien