Disclaimer: I don't own it, I just ship it

Warning: AU, strong language, boy x boy pairings, violence (more so bullying in the beginning), and because this was inspired by the manga Iris Zero, there may be some minor spoilers for it.

Through the combination of rewatching a bunch of good anime, finally editing some projects I've been putting off, and all the love you guys gave the last chapter, I'm feeling much better now! …Also I stopped playing RPGs for a few days, so I'd stop screaming at the TV screen…'cause that did wonders for my strep throat…^^;

Enough of my rambling, in this chapter, you get to see a few more Iris powers and a big ole' flashback involving potato betrayal!

oOo

Feliciano was always the friendlier and happier of the Vargas brothers, but not by choice. He had often wondered what life would be like for them if circumstances were different and Lovino also had an Iris. Not that he needed an Iris to be a great big brother or that having one would make Feli love him even more…He just wondered if things would be different…happier, maybe.

The younger Vargas had often spent a lot of time worrying about his fratello. He knew that poor Lovi was constantly being bullied and making sacrifices for him, but no matter how much he tried to help, Feliciano felt like he just made things worse. Being there for his brother was one of the few things he could actually do to help Lovino. Sometimes it felt like he, Nonno, and Toni were all that his fratello had in the world.

And then he met Alfred.

"I'm so happy you're making friends with Alfredo!" Feliciano clung to his brother's arm shortly before they had to go to class.

"Shut up, we're not friends!" Lovino growled, trying to balance his grabby brother and his coffee drink. "And get the hell off me, already! You're acting like some little kid!"

"I think it will be good for you to open up to others."

"You remember that my opening up to others is what got me into so much trouble, right?"

"That's not what I meant…" Feliciano frowned for a moment, then brightened, squeezing his brother's arm tighter. "I'm hopeful that one day everyone will see you for yourself, not your Iris status!"

"Don't hold your breath, Feli…" Lovino took a sip of his beverage.

"I think Alfredo would agree with me!" he giggled.

"What's he got to do with all of this?" the older Vargas brother tilted his head. His fratello could be a confusing person sometimes. "And what's your deal with giving people weirder and weirder nicknames?"

"I believe that he'll help others see the real Lovi and then people will judge you less."

Lovino tried to shrug it off, but Feliciano wasn't quite done.

"Besides, I know something you don't think I know~!" Feli said in a sing-song voice.

"And what's that?"

"Alfred was the one who got you that coffee, wasn't he?" the Italian poked his embarrassed brother's cheeks. "Ve~! Did you turn as red as a tomato then too?"

Feliciano was very grateful for the fact he had a head start on his brother. Had he been caught, he had a feeling he would've been wearing that cappuccino.

oOo

Feliciano made his way down the busy corridors to his homeroom class. He always thought it was too bad Lovino was a year ahead of him in school, Feli loved all of the people in his class. Everyone was so nice to him, he was sure they would've been nice to Lovi too! Entering the room, he waved to several classmates and took his seat next to Ludwig, the guy he's had a crush on since forever…'Forever' being the last two years, anyway.

"Ciao, Ludwig!" he greeted him happily.

"Good morning, Feliciano."

"You'll never guess what I saw on my way to school this morning!" the brunette's eyes lit up as he began chatting away.

Ludwig looked up at his friend and nodded at the few pauses in the conversation about baby penguins sliding down a hill for some kind of car commercial. It was a strange car, but the baby penguins were so cute and Feliciano would love to have one for a pet. He even asked his German friend if he knew anything about baby penguins, such as do they like pasta? The Italian could be a bit excitable, but he's also honest. In fact, Feliciano was the most honest human being Ludwig had ever met. Even if Feliciano could be a little hyper and impulsive at times, Ludwig wished others could be more like him.

There were days that the blonde felt like he was drowning in lies until the pasta aficionado approached him. Feliciano is like a breath of fresh air in a polluted city. The two were friends, but Ludwig imagined they would be closer if not for Feliciano's older brother. The selfish part of him blamed Lovino for their current situation, but the rational part of him reminded him it was just as much his own fault.

"What are you thinking about, Lud?"

"…The past."

"You're so mysterious…" chuckled the brunette.

Feliciano didn't remember that they actually met a long time ago in grade school. They were in opposite classes, but both were in 2nd grade when the Beilschmidt brothers transferred in. They had gone there for barely a week when all the trouble began…

"Lud? Are you alright?" Feliciano poked his head into the German's line of vision. "You look sad…"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You can always talk to me, you know…" the brunette offered him a sincere smile.

Ludwig smiled at his friend's gesture, but it was short-lived.

"What? Ludwig's feeling down? That's too bad!" another student butted into the conversation.

"Yeah, you can talk to me, too!" another jumped in.

"We're all here for you, Ludwig!" a third announced.

Their words were comforting, but they also betrayed them. Ludwig usually kept it a secret, but his Iris could reveal if a person was lying. The blonde felt his brow crease slightly as the trademark devil tails appeared on the three around him. As usual, only Feliciano was being completely honest with him, the others were just saying words that made them look better.

Ludwig hated liars.

oOo

"Bruder, I don't want to go…" seven year old Ludwig complained to his older brother.

"I know, I don't either…" nine year old Gilbert agreed, absently staring out of the car window. "But we have to. Old man's orders."

Ludwig looked down at his tiny hands. His father was in the military, so they moved around a lot. He had already been to three different schools in his lifetime and wasn't looking forward to more. No matter how many times he tried to convince himself the next place would be better, it never was.

At his current school, he almost disproved his theory upon meeting Feliciano at recess. The Italian boy was very sweet and kind to everyone. He always spoke honestly and sincerely to everyone he passed. Meeting him had been the highlight of his time at that elementary school, but all good things had to end. For him, that began the day he met Feliciano's older brother.

Back then, Ludwig was still small. He was little and shy and afraid of confrontation. Keeping his Iris a secret was a big deal to him because of past experiences with students making him a human lie detector. It was awful for him when the other kids purposely lied to him in order to 'test' him. Being raised by his father to always tell the truth, this made his tummy hurt. Why couldn't anyone else see how painful lies were?

Little Ludwig had done all he could to keep his Iris a secret at his new school. He didn't want others to treat him differently and he certainly didn't want them to intentionally lie to him for 'fun.' When Lovino had exposed the truth about his Iris, Ludwig became terrified. As all the other big boys congratulated Lovino on another job well done, Ludwig heard a few ask about the Italian's awesome Iris. Lovino explained it to them, becoming the lie that pushed Ludwig over the edge.

"Liar! !"

Ludwig didn't know how to handle a liar telling others the truth about his Iris, ruining his chances at peace, then lying about having an Iris capable of doing so. Anger got the best of the little German boy and he told all the others that Lovino was an Iris Zero. It was only fair, right? Both told the other students each other's biggest secret. Ludwig was raised to always tell the truth. He did the right thing, didn't he?

Within the next three weeks, Ludwig watched Lovino's life become hell.

The brunette had been popular before the incident, but now all his friends had turned on him. They pushed him into puddles, hid his gym shoes, scribbled on his homework, and isolated him from the rest of the school. The children's logic was cruel. Whether it was because they were too young to understand or too unwilling to even try, all of the other students stopped seeing Lovino as an equal. The day he was revealed to be an Iris Zero was the day he stopped being human in their eyes. Iris Zeroes were different. They were bad kids who didn't have feelings and deserved to be treated like dirt. Iris Zeroes were accidents and made wrong. Why else were there so few of them? If they didn't show him who was boss, Lovino might curse them. The only one who defended him was his little brother.

Ludwig initially felt guilty and responsible, but didn't know how to help after causing so much hurt. He tried to avoid Lovino and even Feliciano to a degree. Turning a blind eye to someone else's pain was incredibly difficult, but Ludwig did what he thought he had to. After people started turning on Feliciano too, the boys suddenly vanished. Ludwig heard from his teacher that the Vargas brothers had moved somewhere else. Things were too complicated here, so they left to find a different school to start over at.

Ludwig had managed to ruin Lovino's life, which indirectly ruined his own. After Feliciano moved away too, Ludwig lost his only sanctuary in the den of liars. Ludwig hated liars, but he also hated himself.

Even now, the relationship between himself and Lovino was very strained and complicated. He knew from the cold looks and glares that Lovino remembered him. The one thing he couldn't figure out was why the older Vargas brother never mentioned it to Feliciano.

oOo

Feliciano had been worried about his friend, Ludwig. The German boy had been more frowny today than usual. Luddy had told him it was nothing to worry about, he was just reminiscing, but Feliciano wasn't so sure.

It was up to him to make Ludwig feel better again!

But how to do it…? He thought and thought, all day long. The brunette even drew doodles of Ludwig's frowny face in Art class when he was supposed to be drawing the bowl of fruit in front of him. Somehow the doodle morphed into a picture of the two of them smiling and running through a field of flowers before Elizabeta nearly had a heart attack next to him and confiscated the picture 'for personal use.' He was able to quickly whip something up before the end of the period to turn in, but his teacher hadn't been pleased with the rushed work. Her Iris could tell her how much effort others put in their work, after all.

Then it hit him – he could draw Ludwig a picture to cheer him up!

Feliciano remembered that his art teacher was in charge of the supply closet, so if he asked nicely, maybe she would let him.

"Ve~! Professor!" He chirped.

"What is it, Feliciano?" She looked up at him with an icy stare, sending a shiver of fear down his spine.

"V-Ve! Nothing! I just wanted to let you know your sweater looks very nice today!" Feliciano stammered and took off.

The final school bell had rung for the day, but Feliciano's quest to cure the frownies was far from over. He wouldn't let this minor setback make him give up!

"Hmm…now where am I going to find the right materials to make Lud a picture…?" he asked himself, passing the Student Council room on his way to his locker.

"Ve…Don't they keep extra art supplies in the Student Council room?" Feliciano scratched his chin. He was pretty sure they did. His expression brightened. "I'm sure they won't mind if I borrow a few things…what harm could it do?"

Feliciano knew he technically wasn't on the Student Council (Alfred hadn't chosen anyone yet) and students (even Class Reps like him) weren't supposed to enter the room without permission, but this was an emergency! If Ludwig stayed upset any longer, his face might freeze in its frowny expression! And that would be terrible! Feliciano carefully let himself in quietly and helped himself to a few posterboards (in case he made a giant card instead of a single drawing) and art pens kept in the back.

oOo

"Lovino! Lovino! Guess what?" Alfred excitedly jogged over to his friend, not waiting for a response. "I'm coming up with candidates for the other Student Council positions!"

"Why are you telling me?"

"Because I wanted to make you Vice-President!"

Lovino choked on his soda and stared at the blonde in disbelief.

"Are you insane or something? That would cause a coup!"

"I don't think so at all," Alfred crossed his arms. "I think you would do a great job!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, you have a good eye for detail and would've been able to keep me in line…which I'm told is a very difficult task for some reason."

Lovino caught the past tense reference and the sad look in Alfred's eye. The gears in his brain whirred until he had an answer in a matter of seconds.

"Ah, I see…You already recommended me and were rejected."

"I don't understand why…" the American frowned deeply. "I told the Student Council advisor you'd be perfect for the job, but he didn't listen."

"Don't worry, that's only natural," the brunette shrugged. "I'm not upset or anything, so you shouldn't be either."

"Oh, I'm not upset at all!" Alfred's sunny smile came back tenfold. "I made a new position for you!"

"…You what?"

"As of this moment, you are the first official Police Commissioner!" Alfred grabbed his hand and started dragging the stunned boy towards the Student Council room. "People will have to call you Commissioner Vargas and wherever there's trouble, you point me towards it and I'll save the day, just like Batman, but more awesome! Now that it's all settled, let's go sign all the official paperwork, partner!"

Lovino felt his mouth open, but no sounds come out.

oOo

Feliciano had just finished gathering all the necessary art materials and was ready to leave to make Ludwig the best Cheer Up card ever. It would have friendship, puppies, and sparkles all over the place! And if he could arrange it right, Feliciano was going to make a potato and wurst border. It would be perfect!

The door squeaked open.

Uh-oh…

The Italian's feet were rooted to the spot. He was frozen in place like a deer in the headlights. Feli tried to swallow the lump in his throat. If he was caught in here without permission taking stuff (no matter how good his intentions) he could get in a lot of trouble. Suddenly, he felt ridiculous for ever thinking this was a good idea. Squeezing his eyes shut, Feliciano prayed it was Alfred who entered the room. Maybe he could convince him it was for a good cause and not get in trouble. Alfredo seemed like a reasonable guy!

"Feliciano, what on earth are you doing in here?"

It was Roderich and Ludwig.

Eeeeeeek!

"O-Oh, me?" Feliciano sweated under the pressure. "I-I was just, um, cl-cleaning up a little! Hehe…!"

It was an obvious lie that didn't even need someone with Ludwig's Iris to see through. The taller students sighed at the Italian's antics. As absent-minded as the boy was, he did know the school rules. There was no way he could have mistaken today as a meeting day. Yet, Feliciano wasn't the sort to have any political agendas, so whatever half-baked idea caused him to enter the room without permission was most likely harmless.

"Alright, Feliciano," Roderich adjusted his meticulous uniform. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt…"

Feliciano and Ludwig sighed in relief until the Austrian boy turned to Ludwig.

"Because he is telling the truth, right?"

Feliciano and Ludwig locked eyes. The German felt his throat go dry.

oOo

A/N – Because who wouldn't want to be a Police Commissioner in charge of calling the shots and simultaneously making life very difficult for their past bullies? Lovino doesn't understand the great deal he's getting… XD

While Alfred and Lovino are going to be the center of this story, I'll do my best to share some of the spotlight with other characters and couples. So, here! Enjoy your Gerita tension~!

Next chapter will have Lovi's version of the exposing the Iris Zero flashback that Ludwig began here. And pie...Maybe.

-Rajikka

Translations

Fratello – Brother (It.)

Nonno - Grandfather (It.)

Tsundere – A type of character seen in anime or manga known for appearing cold or hostile, but having a hidden sweet side. "Tsun Tsun" is the aloof or irritable side, while "Dere Dere" is the lovey dovey side. (Jp.)