i did some rlly predictable things in this chapter
it is bad and i should feel bad
updates will probably slow down for a while but im going to try and finish this whole story by mid-may.
i wrote this all in one sitting at like 2 in the goddamn morning so pls dont blame me for typos or shit
'—don't know him—'
'—he's— no matter what!'
'—shut up!'
Antonio could only catch bits and pieces of what the twins were screaming at each other in Italian, his mind reeling as he tried to think of something to break them up.
Lovino was sitting on the bed, at the moment, since he'd almost fallen over on his crutch. He sat in a tense position, shoulder blades jutting out, looking ready to jump up and strangle someone. Feliciano was standing at the foot of the bed, arms crossed over a bare chest, brow furrowed with thin, angry lines. Antonio stood between them, unsteadily.
He didn't know exactly how he'd been roped into this situation, but he knew he hadn't been prepared for it. He'd just been taking Lovino home from the hospital that Saturday morning—something the brunette had been looking forward to all week—when he'd come inside to see a fuming Lovino standing over Feliciano and Ludwig… in bed together.
The situation had only degenerated from there—Ludwig had agreed to leave on grounds that Antonio keep them from fighting. Or rather, keep Lovino from hitting his brother. Antonio had known the twins long enough that the occasional abuse from the elder twin was of his knowledge. He presumed Ludwig had figured it out, as well. It was a nasty truth, and he'd done everything in his power to keep it from continuing.
He'd figured it had stopped—but that was disproved at the moment Feliciano stood from the bed, shirtless, and against his ribs were the mottled purple remains of bruises. He'd done a good job of hiding them.
"—you can't—stupid!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
Oh, did Antonio know that phrase. He'd heard it spoken many times to him, both in English and Italian by the hotheaded twin. Feliciano retorted with something Antonio had never heard before, and Lovino nearly screamed with anger.
He lifted his crutch, and with a guttural shout, swung it at Feliciano's head. The younger lifted his hands in defense, but Lovino's swing struck him hard right on the temple.
Antonio jumped up immediately, snatching the crutch from Lovino's hands and throwing to the floor. "Stop! Lovino, stop it!" Antonio cried.
Feliciano clutched the side of his head, tears spilling from his eyes. His temple didn't look to be bleeding, but it must've hurt a lot to be struck with such a thing. "L-Lovi! W-what are yo-oou—" He couldn't get anything else out through his frantic bawling.
Lovino growled. "What are you, Feliciano? I'm the one to be asking questions!" Anger positively dripped from each word.
Feli only cried harder. Antonio was panicked for a moment, then he grabbed Lovino by the shoulders. He slung one of the boy's arms around his neck and lifted him from the bed. Pulling him up, he opened the door to the room (which Ludwig had shut quietly when he left) and assisted Lovi in hobbling down the hallway. He could still hear Feliciano's rapid breaths and frenzied whines as he tried to calm down.
"Agh, goddammit!" Lovino yelled again. "Feliciano, you fucker!" He added a string of Italian after that, probably more insults.
"Lovino, stop!" Antonio insisted, throwing open the door to the boy's room. Antonio dropped the angry Italian onto the bed, stepping away. "I'm not gonna let you two fight anymore! I don't want anyone to get hurt!" Lovino scowled, but didn't argue. "Calm down, and I'll come in to talk to you again. There's probably a perfectly good reason for this… Don't hurt Feliciano for it!"
With that, Antonio shut the door. He heard a loud sigh and a god dammit in Italian, then he started back down the hall to Feliciano's room.
When he returned, he found Feli slumped against the dresser, breathing hard and working to stop crying. He helped him up, rubbing his arms. "Shhh, Feliciano. Let's go downstairs, we'll make Pasta. I'll talk to Lovino, alright?" Feliciano seemed tongue tied, but nodded his head. The two of them descended the stairs, hearing the sound of a smash from Lovino's room.
Antonio's arm was around Feli's shoulders, and they took each stair together. The second one creaked, and the fourth , and the fifth, and the ninth. Each step they took seemed to brighten Feliciano, make his breathing easier, calm him down. By the time they'd crossed the foyer and entered the small kitchen, he was taking deep breaths through his nose. His inhales only shook a little.
"Come on, put on some water to boil. I'll go talk to Lovino."
He left the lighter haired twin to fumble with pots for a moment, turning back to the stairs. He took two at a time, not wanting to leave either twin alone for long. Oh, why had Ludwig left him with this task? Well, he figured if Ludwig had stayed then things would be even worse. Lovino wouldn't stand Feli and the blonde being in the same room together, anymore.
He opened the door again, only to see Lovino sitting on the bed in an awfully uncomfortable looking position. He heaved with each breath, whipping around to see Antonio standing in the doorway. His expression looked… hurt. Antonio sighed, his stance shifting into a more comfortable one. He stepped away from the door, shutting it behind him. Downstairs they could hear a pot clink against another.
"Lovino… What was this all about? I mean… I know what you saw was inappropriate. I mean, I saw it too. But what do you have against Ludwig?"
Antonio leaned back against the door, hearing Lovi's reply. "He kept asking questions about our parents. And… Feli told him everything, the bastard."
"Is that all? Lovi, you told me about your parents. Feliciano can decide who he trusts."
"But I've known you for such a long time! Feli's only known this guy for… two weeks, or some shit!"
"Is there honestly no other reason?"
Lovino glowered, looking incredulously at the brunette. He heaved a great sigh, then clutched his head in his hands. "I… It's really stupid, alright. It might seem stupid to you, but it's not."
Antonio didn't react for a moment. Lovino was about to tell him something that had clearly been bothering him for a while. He walked across the room tentatively, sitting down next to Lovino. "Tell me."
"It's… It's about this kid I used to know. Ludwig… he looks… really familiar to me." Lovino's hunched shoulders looked really tense. Antonio gently gripped his shoulders, turning him around and starting to massage his shoulder blades. "He looks like… one of Feliciano's friends from when we were kids."
"Who?"
"Gah. He… he moved somewhere far away. A different state." It seemed to Antonio like he didn't want to say a name, so he didn't push him.
Lovino continued. "The thing is, when we were something like eight years old, Feliciano had this friend. They were something like childhood sweethearts, it makes me sick. And they spent a lot of time together, a-and they were close.
"It was a couple years later when he just kinda… left. He gave a couple days' notice, none of which he spent with my brother, and then just… moved. He didn't say why, or if he'd ever come back, or anything. We didn't have cell phones or anything back then, so it was impossible to stay in contact, and after that… Feliciano looked so sad all the time. He was really, really sad. And I was angry. That was around the time… our parents died. And on top of all that, we were really really not in good shape. I remember just… being angry all the time. I blamed it on that kid… that blonde kid…
"But right now, when I look at that bastard Ludwig, all I see in him is that kid that fucking abandoned my brother. I don't want to see him like that anymore… I don't want to be angry anymore. So what if Ludwig abandons Feli, too? What if Feli gets it into his head that everyone's just gonna leave? What kind of brother am I, then?"
His voice was heavy when he finished, and Antonio found his voice catching in his throat. He really had nothing to reply to that, so he just let it sink into his mind for a moment.
"Lovino… I don't think Ludwig is going to abandon Feliciano. In the end, they're…. probably not the same person. It's alright."
"It's not alright! I knew you wouldn't take me seriously."
"Agh. I am taking you seriously! I'm just telling you that even if they are the same person, I think that based off Ludwig's actions, he's not going to abandon Feli."
Lovino took another deep breath. "I guess… you're right. I'm still angry, though. He's got no business to ask these questions, and the audacity it must take for him to… to… sleep with my brother. Agh!"
Antonio's face screwed up into one of displeasure. "I'm… Feliciano can make his own choices… I guess. If that's what he wants to do, you can't stop him." He stood up from the bed, taking some steps toward the door.
"Like hell I can't."
"Well, Feliciano and I are going to make some pasta. I'm gonna see if I can calm him down." Lovino pretended he didn't hear him, and flopped down onto his side. He pulled the comforter on his bed over his body.
Antonio made his way back down the stairs, greeted by Feliciano in the kitchen. He'd already put the pasta in the boiling water—Antonio had taken longer than he'd intended—and now he was stirring the contents of the pot with a blank expression on his face.
Antonio patted him on the back, starting up a conversation about school. Something unrelated, that would get Feli's mind off of the argument with Lovi. They talked about art credits, they talked about college and what they planned to do after they got out of that dismal high school. It was only a few minutes later when Feliciano deemed the pasta done. He didn't even need a timer anymore—he made each type of pasta so often he could just rely on his internal timer for guidance. Antonio found this comedic.
Antonio called Lovino down from his room, standing at the bottom of the stairs. Feliciano snatched a bowl of pasta and sat down at the table, on the other side of the kitchen. Lovino came down the stairs slowly, having recovered his crutch. His walking cast made a thump on the stairs as he took them one at a time. His other leg was lifted in the air, wrapped in a permanent red cast that he'd refused to let Antonio sign.
Words were brief as Antonio put some of the food into a bowl for Lovino, setting it at the table so Lovi could move around with the crutch without worrying about carrying the bowl himself. This seemed to put Feliciano off, and he tensed up while he shoveled the food into his mouth.
The kitchen had taken on an air of tension, Antonio noticed.
"L-listen. Feliciano—" Lovino began, but Feliciano cut him off.
"Don't talk to me right now, okay?"
Lovi looked apprehensive. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean the things I said, I was just—"
This time Lovino was cut off as Feliciano struck him across the face. He raised his hand and brutally slapped Lovino's cheek, his head jerking to the side. "You're not sorry!" Feliciano shouted. "You're really not! You always do this, Lovino!" With that, he left the pasta sitting on the table and stormed out of the kitchen. The two heard him bound up the stairs, then the door to his room slammed.
"I… kinda deserved that, didn't I?" said Lovino. Antonio wasn't going to argue.
Eventually, Antonio had to leave. His mother demanded he be home by 3:00 that Saturday afternoon to do chores, and his mother was not the kind of person to slack off on discipline if he failed to do so. He left Lovino with the task of making up with his brother—with specific instructions not to touch him. The one thing Antonio didn't want was more violence between the two. He could already see a bruise forming where Feliciano had struck Lovi—a small one, but certainly a bruise.
He gave Lovi one last parting hug and a wish of good luck before heading to his car.
It was around 8:00 that evening when anything more significant happened. It was only grandpa Roma, getting home from work, but even something like that can end up being upsetting, can't it?
Feliciano was sitting at the kitchen table clutching a cup of tea—he'd gotten it as a gift from Kiku that week. It was some kind of Asian tea, and he could appreciate that.
Grandpa Roma's car could be heard pulling into the driveway. It was a loud thing, old and junky. It wasn't more than a minute before the side door was pulled open and Grandpa Roma was standing in the kitchen, pulling his boots off. He looked tired, his brown hair and beard slightly graying.
"Feliciano." His voice was gruff.
"Ah. Yes, Grandpa Roma?" Feliciano's voice was steady.
"I've got some news for you and your brother. Call him here."
"I'd… I'd rather you just tell me now, Grandpa. Lovino is probably… asleep." In truth, Lovino was most definitely not asleep. He simply didn't want to speak to his brother yet.
"Whatever. I've got a new position opening at work. It's in Virginia, though. That's a pretty state, right?"
What. What the fuck. No, no no, no no no. This couldn't happen. Surely he'd decline, surely he'd say no. Feli didn't want to move—
"It's got nearly $500 more per month! Just incredible, what you can do today…"
"N-No!" Feliciano suddenly exclaimed. "I don't want to move!"
Grandpa Roma gave him a disbelieving look. "Did I fucking ask you? This is for your own good, and for mine, and for Lovino's too! Are you that selfish?!"
Feliciano looked down into his tea. "N-no sir."
"That's better. I've got to go on a business trip all of this week, though. My plane leaves tomorrow. I was so lucky to get a ticket, huh!? I'm going to Virginia and staying in a hotel while have a couple meetings…"
That meant being alone in this house, for a week, with only Lovino. This day could not get any worse.
im just going with this u feel me
reviews please the more i get the more i write