This takes place way before Comedy of Errors, where our beloved bad friends trio are troublesome teens. The first couple scenes have been written a little differently than I usually write things. Not in one person's POV. Hope you enjoy it anyway.
History Of A Garden
It all started when Antonio decided he wanted to plant a garden.
"It would be wonderful!" he announced. "We can have flowers, and vegetables, and tomatoes!" It was not just for him, but Antonio decided he did not need to say that. Besides, he really wanted tomatoes. And also this was something which would possible get Francis outside again. If his friend helped him plant a garden, then he would get out of the house.
Gilbert knew what Antonio was trying to do and was all for it, even if planting a garden was not something he was very interested in. "Sounds like a vay to pass de time, right Fran?" he shoved at the other boy's shoulder.
Francis shrugged. "I guess."
His parents had died six months before and the only time Francis appeared to have any sort of enthusiasm was when the three of them bullied the English boy down the street or when he attempted to woo Elizaveta or one of the other girls, of which Gilbert almost felt guilty for beating him up about.
Neither of them could understand. Gilbert had no idea why his mother one day disappeared or why his grandfather took he and his brother away from his father.
Antonio had been abandoned on the doorstep of an orphanage on the day he was born. The old woman who cared for him here was nice and he loved her, but she was not a parent.
Dead parents did not even enter the equation for either of them.
Okay, so maybe it started four months after that, when they had run away from Arthur's brothers after saving Francis from a bad breakup where Arthur blamed him for everything. They escaped to Gilbert's house, kicking Ludwig out of his room (Brian and Roy (though mostly Brian, as he was the scariest to them right now) would not find them there) and nursing their wounds.
"Your garden, your money," Gilbert said firmly. He would hang around, sure, but he was not planning on spending any of his hard-earned (read: stolen) money just to watch the other two work outside. He reminded them of his albino condition, which he was ready to use at the drop of a hat so he would not have to work.
"I went and asked Tino how much his mother would sell it to me if I asked her to have it all delivered," Antonio frowned, wincing as Francis cleaned off his scraped knee. "I don't have enough for it all. And abuela... I wouldn't want to ask her to pitch in for it, that would not be fair."
"I can pitch in a little," Francis said thoughtfully. "The flowers though. I really want you to have flowers. Roses and lilies."
"Roses ant lilies?" Gilbert scoffed. Francis kicked him in the shin and with a curse he fell backwards on to the bed.
But Antonio really wanted tomatoes. With Francis helping out that left him with less he had to do on his own, but he still did not have nearly enough. Not on the weekly allowance he was given. "I need a job," he stated as firmly as he could. Francis looked slightly amused.
"With your work ethic, 'Tonio? Surely you're better off than Gilbert by miles–"
"–hey!"
"–but unless you find something that interests you you're likely to lounge about. It is the summer."
"If I had a job, I wouldn't slack off," Antonio frowned, wincing against as Francis pushed down on the bandage he placed on his knee.
"Good luck trying to find anyding dat people vould vant you doing," Gilbert said from where he had sprawled himself out on his brother's bed, looking through the books stacked neatly on the shelf next to it. "...ugh, vhat happenet to de days vhen de little robot liked reading about explosions?"
"I'll find something," Antonio said as Francis placed a kiss over the bandage.
"Sure you will, mon ami."
Francis did not doubt that Antonio was driven at the moment, but that was simply it. It was just for now. Antonio phased in and out of things, just like he and Gilbert did, just at a different rate. Still, this wish might take a little too much effort for him to want to bother with past the planning stage. A day or two of trying to find a paying job and he would give up.
Or, more correctly, after a few weeks of doing odd jobs for free. Francis would simply loose his mind.
Never mind, it started a month after that, when Francis came up to him looking rather annoyed. "Why, Antonio? Why?"
"Hello Francis," Antonio said cheerfully. "Why what?"
Francis' jaw opened and shut as he hit himself in the forehead with his palm. "You drive me insane, you really do. The both of you."
"What?"
"I got you a job interview," Francis grabbed him by the wrist and started pulling him along. "And you are going to talk with him now."
"A... wait, an interview?" Antonio blinked, the word slightly beyond him at the moment. Interview made it sound professional. Which was rather daunting.
"I, being your reference, would prefer you not proving how much of an idiot I was by suggesting you," Francis hissed. "Okay, this is what it is. Mister Vargas' grandkid apparently needs some help with homework, so Mister Vargas said he would pay for someone in our class to help him out. I had to shut Eliza up before she took it."
"Now that wasn't very nice," Antonio blinked. Francis shrugged.
"She was all right with it when I explained what was going on. I told Mister Vargas you'd be the best for the job. Then I had to shut Arthur up before he started laughing. I've gone through a lot today, so you'd better not mess it up!"
Antonio was ecstatic to have the opportunity and that Francis would do all of that for him. He did not quite understand why Arthur would have laughed or why Francis thought there was any chance of Antonio messing it up. "What subject?"
"History."
It was not math, so this seemed like a perfect job. Plus, Mister Vargas' grandson! Antonio had never known such a cute, sweet little kid. It would be a privilege to tutor Feliciano! "Are you sure I don't have to pay so I can be there?"
"What are you on?" Francis asked him, confused.
Antonio did not quite get what Francis meant, but in any case they had arrived at the restaurant, where he asked Mister Vargas whether he could be the tutor. He was hired right on the spot.
It took Antonio a while to remember that Mister Vargas did have another grandson. He had never seen the other kid, so it had slipped his mind at the time. Not that it mattered. Well, it mattered a little bit. Antonio was slightly disappointed that he would not be spending time with Feliciano, who was going out to play with Elizaveta.
"Play nice, Lovi~" Feliciano's voice wafted out to the hall.
"Shut up!"
Antonio stood next to Elizaveta at the front hall. "Who's that?" he asked her, rather confused.
"Never met Lovino?" she asked, looking slightly concerned. Then she patted him on the shoulder. "He's a good kid, 'Toni..."
"Lovino," Mister Vargas' voice could be heard. "That over there is Antonio. He is going to be helping you with your history homework!"
"Hell no!"
"...to women," Elizaveta finished with a shrug. "That's why I was going to volunteer."
"Oh." He was Feliciano's brother. Feliciano was so sweet, so how bad could Lovino be? He saw Feliciano as he ran over to tackle Elizaveta in a hug.
"Hi Antonio!" he said cheerfully, turning his head away from Elizaveta and smiling at him.
He. Was. So. Cute. Antonio could not help but smile back. "Hello Feli! What are you two going to be doing?"
"Eli has some fun clothes that I get to try on!" Feliciano exclaimed. Elizaveta grinned. It looked slightly maniacal. Antonio found himself rather uncertain. Still, Feliciano seemed okay with it...
"Now Lovino, go and say hello." Antonio looked over as Mister Vargas pushed another boy into the room. He seemed a little older than Feli, probably twelve. And if looks could kill Antonio figured Lovino wanted him to burst into flames.
"Go away, dumbass."
Feliciano gasped, covering his own ears. Mister Vargas laughed, coming up behind Lovino and placing a hand on either shoulder. "Now that's not nice, Lovino. Try again."
Lovino pouted. "Go away please... cazzo."
"Lovino," Elizaveta leaned down to him, placing a hand on his head. "Be nice for Antonio, 'kay?" Lovino looked away, arms folded across his chest.
It was difficult, but Antonio managed a smile. What have I gotten myself into? "The sooner we start, the sooner you can play and not have to do homework~!"
"Whatever," Lovino scoffed, turning around and walking away. Antonio stared back over at the other three before he followed after.
"Whatever you're paying him isn't enough," he heard Elizaveta say to Mister Vargas.
"You think so?"
"How't it go?" Gilbert asked Antonio as he stepped into his house. Antonio stared blearily at him, then at Francis.
"Why are you both in my house?"
"Your grandma made us churros," Francis said, one in hand as he spoke. "So, speak up! What happened?"
"Let's see your homework," Antonio began, sitting on the couch. Lovino pulled papers and books out of his bag and dropped them on the table, not bothering to do anything after that. "Is this your history boo–"
"Don't touch my stuff, bastard!" Lovino shouted, putting his arms out over it all right as Antonio had reached for the book, pulling it away from him.
"Are you going to open it then?" Antonio asked hesitantly. Lovino glared at him and did not move.
"I don't have to do this. You can't make me do anything."
"But don't you want to get this over with?" Antonio asked, confused. Lovino did not respond, just glaring at him more.
He wished again that it was the cute Feliciano here with him. Then again, why should he wish the inability to do homework on Feliciano? No, that was not nice. Abuela would be ashamed to know he had thought that. Antonio would simply have to buckle down and feel out the territory.
This should not be hard, he had practically been tutoring Gilbert since they had met.
"Hey, dat's not true!" Gilbert denied vehemently. As Antonio sat down next to Francis, the French boy snickered. "Shut up!"
"Oh, you shut up Gilbert," Francis waved him away. "So Lovino was really stubborn?"
"I don't think that begins to describe any of it," Antonio shook his head.
"You're supposed to redo this assignment?" Antonio questioned as Lovino scribbled on the back of another paper. Antonio frowned and looked at it. "These are good answers. Why is it that you need to redo it...?"
"Hell if I know," Lovino responded quietly. "If they're good enough, you don't have to be here."
Antonio carefully took another paper from the mess (hoping not to be bitten again) and looked at that. This one had been turned in completely blank. It did not make sense. Then he looked at the first one again.
"Did you just copy this out of the textbook?"
"Fuck you." Antonio winced at the language.
"Does Mister Vargas really let you talk like that?"
"Are you really just that stupid?"
Antonio suddenly believed this was the worst job in the world. He was running out of his limitless patience quickly. "Is history really the only subject you need help with?" he asked blankly. And maybe that was a stupid question. Lovino stared at him.
"You are stupid. Why are you even here?"
"Because you need help with your homework!" Antonio smiled, settling himself down by reminding himself of his plans for the garden. He wanted to start plotting out the land this weekend.
"I don't want you here. I want Elizaveta."
"I'm sorry," Antonio said honestly, "but she's out with your brother–"
Lovino threw his book at him and Antonio barely managed to get his hands up in time to catch it. "Of course she is! I don't need you to tell me that!" Lovino stood up and Antonio caught him by the wrist.
"We are going to fix this assignment." He was not asking anymore. It was all Antonio could do to keep his tone pleasant.
"Let go of me!"
"And when we are done with this assignment, we can take a break! Then we will do this one~!"
"What the hell?"
Gilbert looked at the clock. "It took you four hours to do two homevork assignments?"
Antonio grimaced. "It took us four hours to complete one."
Francis snickered again. "I think Lovino's competing with me for the quickest time to see the infamous 'Two-Faced Antonio'!" Without looking, Antonio shoved the churro into Francis' face.
"Man," Gilbert whistled. "You gonna keep this up?"
"I get paid by the hour!" Antonio responded cheerfully as Francis coughed on his churro. "He needs help with his homework and I need the money. We can help each other!"
To tell the truth, Antonio was dreading the next day.
It took two weeks before Antonio was able to reach for the book or one of the papers without Lovino trying to bite him. Lovino would simply glare at him. Not like that was different from all of the other times Lovino would glare at him.
"There is a good in everyone," the woman he called grandmother had always told him, ever since he was little. Antonio tried to believe that.
"Why are you here?" Lovino would always ask him.
"Because you need help with your homework!" Antonio would always respond.
It was just so difficult for Antonio to understand. How could someone be so angry? As it was he had thought Ludwig was confusing, the quiet and stern child he was... it did not seem right for a child to be that against fun (Antonio knew about this well enough, first Gilbert would complain about it and now Feliciano was talking about Ludwig a lot). Lovino was even more confusing. He was angry with everyone and everything. Antonio had never seen him smile, or even have anything less than a frown on his face. Not even around his brother, of which almost seemed to make Lovino worse.
How could anyone have a frown on their face around Feliciano?
"Feliciano told me you have a test next week," Antonio started, flipping through the pages of the chapter they had been working on.
"No," Lovino responded, but Antonio had come to expect that. Holding back a sigh he went to the back of the chapter.
"We can go through the study questions~!"
Lovino set down his pencil. "What do you do to prepare for tests, moron?"
Antonio thought about it. "I usually first read through the chapter–"
With that, Lovino ripped the book from his hands and left the room. Blinking a few times, Antonio followed after. "Lovino? Are you reading the chapter?" He stopped in front of his room. "Lovino...?"
"Yeah. So go away."
He stood there for a few more moments before he decided he would pretend that was what was going on and went to go organize Lovino's papers before he left. They still had these assignments to fix. These were new assignments Lovino had not even looked at – not all of which were history, but most which were. Why was Lovino so against history? He would at least fill in the other papers, even if they were not all right...
Antonio picked up an envelope. It was crumpled up, but addressed to Mister Vargas. Antonio realized that Mister Vargas had probably never seen it. While his first reaction was to take it to the oldest Vargas, another part of his mind stopped him. It was the part of his mind that usually filled in for Francis and Gilbert when they were not there.
It was a part of his mind he should probably get rid of, but had not gotten around to it yet.
–it appears nothing I can do will get through to your grandson. While I hate to hold any child back, it will likely be in his best interest unless his grades improve...
P.S. Lovino, if your grandfather does not read this letter, do know that I am calling home. This will be discussed.
Huh.
Antonio stuck it back into Lovino's bag. He had a feeling this situation was beyond him. He did not know what to do. This was a mistake.
"Vater?"
"Ah, I see you have decided to make yourself useful in some way," Francis retorted, leaning against his shovel as Antonio took one of the glasses.
"Just for dat, you can get your own vater."
The garden was beginning to take form. At least, where everything was going to be. Antonio had not managed to by the vegetable seeds (and tomato seeds) yet, but Francis had gotten the flowers he wanted, so they were going to plant those. It was a start. Tilling the earth was hard work that Gilbert had gotten himself out of by mentioning that he was going to get horribly burnt. Antonio was starting to think Gilbert really liked being an albino for these very reasons.
"Hi Antonio!" Antonio turned to see Feliciano on the road, waving at them. "Hi Gilbert, hi Francis!"
"Hello Feli~!" Antonio waved back. Gilbert was grinning.
"Hafing fun, Ludwig?"
Ludwig did not look like he was, but he did not pull away as Feliciano ran onward, pulling Ludwig by the hand. "Of course he is! Bye~"
"Speaking of Italians," Francis mentioned, taking his glass from Gilbert. "You know Lovino hates me just because of association with you?"
"I doubt that's the case..." Antonio frowned.
"From all vhat you'fe told us, he just hates eferyding," Gilbert nodded. Setting his empty glass down, Antonio went back to work.
It was all for this garden. Francis seemed happy with doing this, so that was good. Gilbert was out here with them instead of getting in trouble somewhere else (without them). And when Antonio looked back at his house, he could see abuela smiling.
This garden was for her.
She loved tomatoes so much.
He could keep up this tutoring so as to get enough money to make this garden a reality. Plus, Lovino was finally doing his homework. He could not stop now, he had come so far.
"I can't beliefe Ludwig is actually letting Feliciano drag him around," Gilbert was saying, sounding excited. "Ludwig von't efen let me do anyding vith him."
"You certainly make us think you're lying when you say you two used to be close," Francis responded. Antonio nodded, though he was not certain that was the right thing to say.
Neither Francis or he had siblings. How siblings were supposed to be came to them in the form of Gilbert and Ludwig, or Arthur and his big brothers. Or Berwald and his cousins. It was confusing for Antonio, to say the least.
"Ve vere," Gilbert scowled at them. "Den he got hurt or someding. Vhen he vas five, I remember finting him..."
Gilbert stopped talking. Antonio looked up.
"Gilbert?"
"Was... was it bad?" Francis asked.
"He nearly died," Gilbert muttered, pulling his legs up on the chair he was sitting in, hugging them to his chest. "Dere vas blood efervhere. He didn't know me, he didn't remember anyding."
Antonio put his tools aside, walking back over to Gilbert and hugging him. "I'm sorry."
"Vhatefer," Gilbert tried to shrug.
"Not whatever," Francis responded, resting his hand on Gilbert's shoulder.
"I... I just vish I knew vhat happened to him. I vish I had been dere."
Dealing with Lovino did not seem like it should be that difficult after that. Francis and Gilbert had actually dealt with hardship. What was the worst thing to ever happen to him? Nothing, Antonio did not have something like that. He did not want to have something like that.
All right, Lovino. I'll find some way to make this work.
"I found this movie on the Renaissance, let's watch it! It will help you with your test!"
Lovino stared at him. It took him a few seconds to turn it into a glare, so Antonio figured either the other was tired or he had managed to surprise him. "You're not supposed to be here today, bastard."
"There is always time for learning!" Antonio said happily, stopping as he looked curiously at Lovino. "What are you making?"
Lovino flushed, pressing his back against the stove. "N-nothing! Go away! What are you even doing here? I don't care fuck about that test!"
Setting the movie on the counter, Antonio squatted down to look up at Lovino. "Why, Lovino?"
"Because!" Lovino retorted. "It's just history! Who cares about a bunch of old dead people? It's all in the past, it doesn't matter now!"
"Why wouldn't it matter? Because it happened is why any of us are here!"
"Doesn't mean I have to care!"
Antonio blinked, smile falling off his face. "But you don't seem to care about anything."
His eyes instinctively shut when an oven mitt hit him in the face. Opening them again, Antonio stared at the glove on the ground and then where the footsteps ran off to. Putting the glove on the counter, Antonio left and went home.
Make it work? Make what work? There is nothing there to work! Lovino would not work with him, he could not change the mind of someone who did not want to listen.
That was it.
He would call Mister Vargas later. He had tried, but there was nothing to work with. Nothing he did, nothing he said made any difference with Lovino. Maybe Lovino would do better with Elizaveta. Of course he would do better with Elizaveta, he did not seem to have any problems with her.
Not that he smiled to her either. He never smiled.
"Oh dear... I can tell you're in a bad mood," his abuela said when he walked into the house. She was sitting in her rocking chair, patching up one of his blankets.
"What do you want for dinner?" he asked her with a smile.
"Don't you start," she smiled, continuing to look down at her work. "Come, I know you went to see the young Vargas. I thought you were going to watch that movie with him."
Antonio hesitated.
"Grandmother, I don't think there is any good in him."
She stopped her sewing, setting it down in her lap. "Come over here, child." Shuffling his feet, Antonio walked up to her and she looked straight up at him, kind gaze firm. "There is a good in everyone. I hope I live long enough to see you accept this," she raised her trembling hands up, cupping his face in those pale tanned fingers. "You thought Francis a liar."
Antonio nodded. He had.
"And you thought Gilbert a criminal."
Antonio nodded again. Their first impressions had not been good.
"They are now your best friends. We all have our faults. It is the way the Lord allowed us to be. He gave us curiosity and through that we make mistakes. We are all capable of evil, but only because we are all capable of good."
More then anything, Antonio wished he could believe as deeply in Him as she did.
"There is good in him, Antonio. It is your task to find it."
Patting his cheek, she removed one of her hands and grabbed the necklace about her neck. Antonio reached to help her, but she removed it on her own, setting the rosary beads in his hand. "I can't take this," Antonio shook his head.
"Hush, you can," she smiled, returning to her sewing. "It will help you think of good. It will remind you of good. It will help others see good."
"How?" he asked.
"Because you will be reminded and when you remember good others will see it within you." Leaning back, she looked up at him once again. "How did you leave that boy, Antonio?"
If there was the epitome of good in the world, it was her. Antonio felt like an idiot. Turning, he ran back out the door, slipping the beads around his neck.
"Lovino?"
He let himself in as Mister Vargas always said he could. Knocking at Lovino's door, he wondered if the boy was even there. Pressing his head against the door, he tried to listen in. Which was when the door hit him in the head. "Ow!"
"Che cosa vuoi, carogna?" Lovino spat. Rubbing at his head, Antonio looked up to see that Lovino's eyes were red. Had he been crying? He found himself wondering why he had ever thought that Lovino was incapable of it. Lovino might have been a bad kid, but Antonio knew it did not help that he did not know how to deal with him.
"Yo no hablo italiano," Antonio admitted with a smile. Lovino stared at him.
"What the hell?"
"You spoke in Italian, I though that meant I could speak in my first language," Antonio admitted with a shrug. Lovino glowered up at him, hand still on the doorknob.
"What do you..." he trailed off. Antonio squatted down so they would be closer. Actually, so Lovino would not have to crane his neck upward. "What are you wearing?"
Antonio stared down at himself. "Clothes?" he asked, confused.
"No!" Lovino shook his head, pointing at his chest. Antonio followed his finger to the rosary.
"Rosary beads? They are–"
"I know what they are, bastard, I'm Catholic!" Lovino exclaimed. "But why are you wearing them?"
"You're Catholic?" Antonio asked, surprised. That did not make much sense at all. "You're a rather horrible Catholic, aren't you?"
Right off the bat Antonio knew he said the wrong thing again. Lovino looked at him with something which he could only equivocate to unadulterated fury, right before he ran at him. Antonio slipped backward, falling on his behind and he tried to avoid the other's fists. It lasted five seconds before suddenly Lovino burst into tears.
"Lovino?" Antonio questioned as the boy tried to turn and hide away once more in his room. Antonio reached and grabbed him, pulling him into his arms before he could do so. Lovino did not even try to hit him again, simply pressing his face into Antonio's chest and sobbing.
He did not know why, but Antonio was suddenly aware that there was a lot more than just an angry kid right here. There was a lot more to Lovino. There was a reason he hated history. There was a reason he said he was Catholic. There was a reason he was crying right now.
"Shh... It's okay. Big brother's here for you. Okay, Lovi? It's all right." Antonio patted his head, pressing his nose against Lovino's shoulder.
"N-no... you won't be... n-n-no... why are you h-here?"
There was a reason Lovino kept asking that.
Antonio smiled into his neck. "Because you need me here, silly."
"You're an idiot." For once, Lovino did not sound like he meant it. It was easy enough for Antonio to decide that he probably had not actually meant it all of those other times either.
He would figure it out.
"Want to watch that movie I brought? I hear it's a good movie... studying or no."
"No," Lovino sniffed. Antonio started to believe he did not mean that either. So he picked the boy up and set him on the couch.
The movie was good.
"Hey! Fran say ve're not vorking at de garden today?" Gilbert asked him, catching Antonio as he had walked out the door.
"Sorry, something came up~!" Antonio responded happily. The German stared at him for a few moments, simply looking confused.
"...like vhat?"
"I'm going to see Lovino," Antonio told him.
Gilbert looked horrified. "I dought you didn't hafe to be dere on de veekends!"
"I don't!
"Den vhy?"
Trying to think of a way to describe it, Antonio came up with nothing. "Because," he finally answered with, leaving Gilbert there. Sorry my friends, but someone else needs me more right now.
It took him a total of an hour to convince Lovino to come outside and play with him, but Antonio did not falter. Never once did he think about giving up, because all of those insults and denials just did not seem to weigh as heavily anymore. He did not know why Lovino retreated into that, but he obviously needed someone to realize what he was actually saying.
So he just tried to hear what was not being said.
Monday.
"How did your test go?"
Lovino scoffed, scribbling on the back of another paper. "Okay, I guess. It was boring."
"But you knew what it was asking, right?" Antonio asked as Lovino handed him a paper which appeared to be a science assignment.
"Fill that out."
"Aw~ I'm not doing your homework, Lovi," Antonio smiled. Lovino stared up at him, face red.
"Shit! Don't call me that!"
"Lovi?" Antonio questioned, making certain he knew what Lovino was asking.
"Don't!"
Antonio thought about the request. Then he looked at Lovino again. "Lovi~"
Lovino blushed even more and put his face back down to his picture. Studying that, Antonio was rather aware that Lovino reminded him of a tomato. At least, the colour was similar. Antonio could not have stopped smiling if he tried.
"You are so adorable, Lovi."
"What are you on, bastard?"
Notes:
"Che cosa vuoi, carogna?" = "What do you want, asshole?"
"Yo no hablo italiano" = "I don't speak Italian."
Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis were rather close, because in the nature of Hearth that people did not seem to live there very long. It was a belief of theirs that the more they could cram into a day the less time they were wasting before one of them left. Little would they know the first and only one of them to leave would be Francis, and by his own choice when he and Arthur ran off.
Class sizes in Hearth are very small still, though nowhere near as small as what Arthur teaches in present day Hearth. Arthur basically does one on one. None of those children will be left behind, goddammit.
The scene between Antonio and his grandmother was spoken completely in Spanish, which is why I decided not to have every single thing translated. No, it just gets to be in italics.
I want to write more with this. You know, the part where they actually fall for each other and crap like that. I just did not want to put it in here, because I think the important part with this was simply overcoming Lovino's animosity.
Anyway, I knew I had to get this typed out before I got to the wedding day. Before it gets to the vows and all of that, or else things would not make sense. Actually, it would make sense, but now everyone can get where they started.