Hello! Thanks for following the story this far. I'm trying to write as fast as I can, because I love to see your lovely reviews!
This part of the story may begin to become a little triggering to some, so be warned!
"Ludwig! Ludwiiiiiiiiig!" Feliciano called from around the middle bus as the blonde mounted the steps inside the vehicle. He heard the puff of air as the door swung shut behind him and the engine of the bus started. He shouldered his army-green backpack and walked down the center aisle, toward Feliciano.
It was strange, he'd expected to see him waiting alone, but beside him was another boy. This new figure was looking out the window, back at the school as the bus began to move and pull out of the parking lot. Ludwig sat down in the seat in front of them both. "Hello Feliciano," Ludwig began, only to see the other boy's head whip around to glare at him.
He had darker brown hair than Feli, and sharper, sterner features. "Who the fuck are you?" He offered. Ludwig was taken aback.
"Ehh, Lovino! Why are you always so mean to my friends?" Feliciano yelled. "Sorry Ludwig, this is my twin brother, Lovino!"
Twin... Brother? Ludwig did a double take. Now that he looked closer, they did look very much alike, both in body structure and their faces. Lovino huffed, pulling up the neckline of his black coat. "Whatever." He rolled his eyes and went back to looking out the window.
"I didn't know you had a brother." Ludwig offered, not quite sure what to say. The bus had now pulled onto the road and gained some speed, the hum of the engine and hiss of the suspension accompanied their conversation. Feliciano just smiled.
"I guess I forgot to tell you then, ahaha. We live together with our Grandpa Roma. It's nice, I get to eat all the pasta I want~" Ludwig smiled. This was yet another mention of the food, something Feliciano obviously cared about a lot.
Only an instant later did Feliciano cry out, and Ludwig's eyes snapped into focus once again. "What was that?"
Feliciano bent down and picked up a wad of paper, looking over his shoulder before frowning and turning back to Ludwig. "This paper. Just hit me in the head. Francis threw it." He buried his face in his hands, elbows resting on his lap. Ludwig could see the blonde boy in the back of the bus, sitting with Arthur, laughing at the red-head. He had a little stubble on his chin that he seemed to be proud of, like it made him more of a man than everyone else. He was laughing pretty hard, half-leaning on Arthur as the bus rumbled beneath them.
Ludwig stood up, moving toward Francis. He stopped and leaned on the seat in front of the two of them, his hand clenching around the seat-back. "What the fuck was that?" Ludwig said, anger flashing in his eyes. The muscular teenager stood taller, trying his best to be intimidating.
"I-I-I ehh. Um." Francis stuttered. He laughed nervously, annoyingly. "I-It was nothing! Aahahaha, j-just a joke! I promise!" He leaned into the window, away from Ludwig and a now-smirking Arthur.
"Stop that. Feliciano doesn't need your shit, Francis, god dammit." With that, he turned on the heel of his boot and returned to his seat in front of a shocked Feliciano.
"W-wow. Thanks, Ludwig." Feliciano strangled out.
"Eeh, whatever. This bastard didn't do shit. You could've done that yourself, Feli." Lovino turned his head toward the two of them, jeering.
Ludwig gave him a hard stare. "Would you stop swearing at me? I didn't even do anything to you." Lovino just ran a hand through his dark wavy hair and shrugged.
"I don't know, you seem like the type to be a complete bastard toward my brother."
"I've done nothing bad to him at all! I even gave him a ride home from the dance last Friday."
"You what?"
Feliciano cut in. "Ahahahaha, about that Lovino-"
"You told me your date drove you home! Did something happen? Jesus fuck, Feli. What the fuck is wrong with you."
Feliciano's face scrunched up for a second, and then he looked up. "We're here. Let's get off." He said, standing up and moving into the aisle as the bus rolled to a stop. He, Lovino and Ludwig stood up and exited the bus, thanking the driver with a wave of his hand. They stepped onto the curb, where yellowed, dying grass was still damp from the rainy weekend. The three of them walked in silence for a few minutes, Lovino walking ahead of Ludwig and Feli as they moved down the shaded street toward the twins' small house.
They approached the building on the side of the street, since there were no sidewalks, and Ludwig got a good look at the house. It didn't look to be in terrible condition, but it wasn't anything fancy either. It was mostly made of brown brick, with dark shingles and a small chimney on the roof. Some white siding and fake shutters had the paint peeling off a bit, and one of the windows on the second floor had a bent frame, but other than that, it looked like a home. Two cars sat in the cracked concrete driveway; a small reddish-purple car that had a few dents in the side, and a black pickup truck. Ludwig assumed one was their grandfather's, since Feli didn't own a car and the other must have been Lovino's.
They walked around to the back of the house, Lovino reaching the door first and pulling out a set of keys. They jingled a bit, and he found the right one, turning it in the lock. Ludwig caught sight of a keychain shaped like a tomato.
Lovino had to push his weight against the door to get it to open, stepping inside and throwing his backpack down on a table, which Ludwig assumed was the kitchen table. Dirty linoleum floors greeted him in the outdated kitchen, but the room looked well-used and Ludwig saw herbs and peppers drying on a string hanging from one of the cabinets. Feliciano set down his blue backpack on the table as well, the blonde following suit.
Lovino walked immediately out of the room, hopping up the stairs, and a creak was heard through the entire house.
"So, what do you want to do?" Feliciano asked.
Huh. That was like asking a rock to do a backflip. He had no idea what to do, since all his hobbies were single-person activities. "I-I don't know."
"Hmm~ How about we watch a movie?" Feliciano seemed to sense his uncomfortableness.
"Ah. Sure." Ludwig was somewhat relieved. Feliciano walked out of the kitchen in the same direction Lovino had gone, but took a left turn before he reached the narrow wooden staircase. They came into a room with cream-colored walls and a floral-patterned sofa. The carpet was a pepto-bismol pink color, and had a few stains on it. Feliciano walked over to a shelf full of DVDs, while Ludwig just sat down on the couch. There was an entertainment center with a box-shaped television surrounded by trinkets behind glass panels.
"How about we watch 'The Matrix'? It's a good movie, huh?" Feliciano asked him, turning around with a DVD box in hand.
"Oh, sure. That sounds good." In all truth, Ludwig had never seen the movie, but he didn't care.
Feliciano put the movie in the DVD player and sat down in front of the couch on the floor, next to a spot where the carpet bulged up.
"Has Ludwig ever seen this movie before?" Feliciano asked.
"N-no, I haven't. I've heard about it, though. I don't watch a lot of movies."
Feliciano smiled. "Oh, that's alright! I like to watch action movies, and comedy movies, and especially romance movies!"
"Romance movies, huh? I've never watched any." Ludwig responded. "It's kind of not my thing. I read a romance novel once, though."
"Ah. I don't do a lot of reading, I like music more."
"Oh really?"
The two of them started to talk about their favorite music, and movies, and such things as that. Ludwig had already started to get the idea that Feliciano was incredibly lazy, but now his suspicions were confirmed while they lazily spoke about their interests. Feli mentioned he loved to sleep, and loved to cook and eat good food. What a glutton, Ludwig thought to himself.
By now the movie was forgotten, playing quietly in the background of their conversation. He felt comfortable in the room, its warm cream walls making it seem like a home after all. They talked until the movie was well over, leaving them to stare out and watch dust swim through the sunlight. After a while, the conversation turned to Feliciano's past.
"Grandpa Roma used to take me down the street to that restaurant, you know, the Italian place, with the tomato painted on the bricks outside. But recently he's been tired, so he just sleeps all the time, then goes to work and comes home and sleeps more. I've had to make dinner for Lovi and me a lot, too, so I know a lot of good recipes, for pasta, and pizza!" He was trying to keep it upbeat, Ludwig could see that.
"Feliciano." Ludwig said, swallowing.
"Yes?"
"Where are your parents?"
Feliciano looked suddenly interested in what was happening outside the window, averting Ludwig's gaze behind him and staring out the muntin-crossed glass panes. They heard the sound of a bird calling outside, a rare sound for so late in the fall. It would start snowing soon.
"There… was a car accident, ve?" Feliciano's voice dried up. "A bad one, when we were kids."
Ludwig suddenly regretted asking. This was none of his business, what was he doing? "O-oh. I see."
"So now we're with Grandpa Roma, me and Lovino." His eyes narrowed in thought. Ludwig thought he might just start crying.
Suddenly, a door slammed upstairs. The narrow staircase creaked again, and Lovino descended into view. He turned to go to the kitchen, but stopped for a split second long enough to notice the somber mood in the room. "What the fuck is going on in here?" He asked gruffly.
"Ah, Lovino. Um, h-he asked about our paren-"
"Don't you fucking dare answer him. It's none of his buisness!" Anger flashed in Lovino's eyes and he walked into the room, standing in front of Feliciano where he sat on the floor uncomfortably. Ludwig shifted on the couch beside them.
"Lovi! I can do whatever I want, Ludwig is my frien-"
This time Feliciano was cut off as Lovino grabbed him by the front of his shirt, hauling him off the ground as the reddish-brown haired boy tried to pry Lovino's hands off of him. Ludwig stood up, with the full intention of breaking the brothers apart.
"Get the fuck out, you bastard!" Lovi shouted, turning his head toward the blonde. Ludwig shot a panicked look at Feliciano, who stopped struggling for a second.
"J-just go, Ludwig."
Ludwig found himself speechless. What was he doing? His feet were glued to the floor for an instant, eyes wide. Lovino then let go of Feliciano and stepped toward him.
"Get out, get out of here!" Lovino shouted at the top of his lungs, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.
And in that instant, Ludwig turned and dashed to the kitchen. Quickly shouldering his green backpack, he threw open the door to the sound of the twins shouting at each other. He bolted from the house, running down the street under the huge dying trees.
Whew! That was tough to write. I hope you all liked it! Next chapter may include some side pairings, I hope that's ok!
Please review!