When Lovino and his brother arrived, Arthur was on his third pot of tea, having given up on reading after again failing to concentrate properly. Arthur simply stared into space and let his thoughts wander to Lovino, but the longer he thought about the dark-haired Italian, the more confused he became than when he began. I do not understand this infatuation with that surly Italian. He's rude, ill-mannered, flow-mouthed, interesting, quite handsome too - Stop that Arthur. You're getting ahead of yourself again. He again reasoned that he was only interested because the young man was such a challenge.
"You're talking to yourself again."
Arthur nearly fell out of his seat, thankfully he hadn't been holding his tea-cup at that moment, or it surely would have ended up on the floor. "Bloody hell! Why must you sneak up on me like that?"
"Why must you make it so easy to sneak up on you like that?" Lovino asked, nonchalantly, but he obviously was moking him.
"Shut up," he grumbled, glaring at the Italian. "Where's you're brother?" Just as he asked, a head peeked out from over Lovino's shoulder.
"Hello, sir," the boy said shyly.
From what Arthur could see of the boy, he was a couple years younger than Lovino, both his hair and eyes were lighter than his brother's. In fact, everything about him seemed lighter that his brother. And the air he carried around him differed from Lovino's, it was gentler and sweet. "Hello there."
Suddenly, the entire boy's face lit up with a wide smile and he waved at him. "Ciao! I'm Feliciano and it's very nice to meet you!"
'Wow. He's nothing like Lovino,' he thought, surprised by the pleasant greeting. "It's nice to meet you too. I'm Arthur Kirkland, if you don't already know."
"Veh, Lovino's told me about you. Thank you so much for helping us!"
Arthur flushed lightly. "You're welcome. Would you like me to show you your rooms?"
"Damn, you sound more like a fucking servant than the owner of this place when you say that."
"Yes, please!"
The contrast between the two brothers amazed him. How could one brother be so kind and adorable, while the other was cynical and...would probably punch you if you ever mentioned his name and the word adorable in the same sentence? "Yes, well follow me."
As Lovino stepped closer, Arthur noticed Feliciano was riding on his back. "If you say a fucking word, I will murder you in your sleep," Lovino growled.
"Fratello! Don't be so mean," Feliciano cried.
He could barely contain the laughter that bubbled up in his chest. 'These two compliment each other well,' he thought. "I didn't say anything," he said, leading them down the hall, pointing to the different bedrooms and where the washroom was located.
"Do you mean I'm not allowed to sleep with my fratellone?" From the way Feliciano looked at him, you'd think Arthur was taking his brother away from him completely.
"No, no," he said quickly. "You can sleep where ever you like!"
Feliciano's smile returned with full force. "Veh, thank you Arthur."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Lovino staring at him with a mixture of amusement and disgust. "And so, it begins," was all he said.
"What?"
"You'll figure it out, bastard." Lovino marched into the bedroom that was to be Feliciano's and dumped his brother on the bed.
Feliciano let out a whine, "Fratello!"
"Don't you 'fratello' me, I'm going to get us some proper food, so shut your mouth," he growled and stomped out.
"Fratellone is so kind," Feliciano said, turning to Arthur who had followed them into the room.
"Er, that didn't come across to me as kind," he said slowly.
The boy waved his hand, smiling brightly at him. "Once you get to know him, you'll understand. Lovi doesn't mean anything he says...unless he actually does mean it."
"Well, it's really hard to tell the difference then," he said in a somewhat amused tone.
"Perhaps, just a bit," Feliciano said cheerfully, running his hands over the sheets and blankets under him, a strange look of nostalgia on his face.
"Are you alright?" Arthur asked softly when the silence became too unbearable for him.
"I'm fine. It's just been so long since I've had a real bed, and with such thick blankets too," the little Italian said, almost too quiet for him to hear.
Arthur didn't know how to answer that, obviously this boy didn't get the luxury of a bed often, but he was willing to change that. "Oh," he finally said.
"Lovino and I use to share a bed even larger than this one when we were younger." Feliciano suppressed a giggle, his hands smoothing the blanket out. "We were both so scared of the dark back then. Although Lovi was much better at hiding it than me, but that didn't stop him from hugging me when a branch scratched at the window and scared us both. Once, we got so terrified that we had to spend the night in Nonno's bed." He quickly grew very quiet and solemn, it didn't suit the usually cheerful boy.
He placed a comforting hand on Feliciano's shoulder, before saying, "Would you like to talk?"
Feliciano opened his mouth to speak, but a much sharper, angry voice cut him off. "Why the hell are you touching him?"
"I was checking his temperature," he said quickly, thinking fast and putting his hand on Feliciano's forehead, surprised to find it warm with a mild fever.
"Oh... And?"
"He has a fever, but it's not too high. I was expecting him to be more severe than this, to tell you the truth," he confessed, glancing at Lovino who was standing in the doorway holding a wooden spoon.
"He's been sick for nearly a whole damn year. Don't you tell me that's not fucking severe," Lovino growled, and stepped further into the room.
From the way the dark-haired man clutched that spoon, he figured he wasn't afraid to hit him with it if Lovino got too annoyed. "That is worrisome," Arthur said cautiously, keeping an eye on that spoon. "But I think with proper medicine and food, he'll be better before you know it." He tried a smile, but let it drop when Lovino's scowl only deepened.
"Alright, bastard. I made pasta," he said, turning to his brother.
Feliciano let out an excited gasp. "Really? Pasta!"
"I had pasta?" Arthur mumbled under his breath, remembering his (failed) attempts at Italian food.
Lovino shoved the spoon into Arthur's hand, and glared at him. "Taste, bastard."
He hesitantly licked some of the red sauce from the spoon. Flavor exploded on his tongue, each one melding together and at the same time, different and bold. "Wow... That's delicious!"
"Damn right, bastard. No more of your shit food," he said, grinning at Arthur.
"It's not shit food," he grumbled.
"Don't argue with me, dammit." Lovino picked up his brother, ignoring the goofy smile on Feliciano's face as he cuddled against him.
"Um, is there something wrong with his legs that I should know about?" Arthur asked, glancing at Feliciano's legs wrapped around Lovino's waist.
"Not that I know of." Lovino growled when Feliciano kissed his cheek, "Stop that."
"Well, if his legs are fine, why isn't he walking on his own feet?"
"Because fratellone loves me!" Feliciano declared before Lovino could say anything, much to his brother's embarrassment.
"That still doesn't—"
"He's fucking lazy, that's why," Lovino grumbled.
"And Lovi's nice enough to carry me around!"
"And he somehow convinced me to be his fucking horse."
"I wouldn't trade my brother for the world."
"I ought to just stop picking him up. It's spoiling him."
Arthur watched each brother ignore the other and say what they want. One practically singing his love, while the other found reasons to insult him, somehow it came across as caring, though. 'What a strange combination. They're so different,' he couldn't help but think as he looked from brother to brother.
"So, dinner?" He finally interrupted them.
"Oh, yes! I'm so hungry!" Feliciano squeezed Lovino's shoulder and wiggled his legs. "Onward, to the pasta!"
"I'm not your fucking horse, dammit," Lovino growled, and walked to the kitchen.
He followed the two brothers, laughing quietly as Lovino fussed over Feliciano. While the two brothers set up dinner, Lovino had to find another chair for Arthur to sit in, he decided to mix up the medicine Feliciano needed to take. I wonder what their story is... Shouldn't their parents be around? I don't want to pry too much, but...I'm curious. Feliciano seemed more than willing to talk about the past, but I doubt Lovino would be as willing. I was barely able to get a name out of him! I wonder why he's so damn skittish?
"Whatcha got there, bastard?" Lovino's voice startled him out of his thoughts.
"Dammit! Stop sneaking up on me like that!" He nearly dropped the glass of milky liquid in his hands. "And this is medicine."
Lovino gave a short puff of laughter. "You need to pay attention to what's around you, bastard. Then maybe I wouldn't startled you as much, stupid."
Arthur scowled and set the glass in front of Feliciano. "Shut up, git. Please, drink this. It doesn't taste too bad."
Feliciano sniffed the strange liquid before gulping it down as fast as he could, his face up into a look of disgust. "Ew... Am I going to have to drink this again?"
"Just before dinner."
All whines of complaint were cut off by Lovino shoving a bowl of pasta in his face. "Quit your whining and eat."
The younger brother immediately took the plate and began stuffing his face, the taste of medicine forgotten on his tongue. "Grazie! This is so good, fratello."
He sat down as Lovino scooped some pasta out into his bowl. "Thank you, Lovino."
"Fuck off," he grumbled, but a faint blush managed to find its way on to his cheeks.
"Be nice, Lovi," Feliciano scolded playfully.
"You shut up," he growled, taking the seat closest to the door again.
Silence fell over them as they all ate, each savoring every bite in their mouths. Arthur decided this was the best food he had ever eaten, he liked it better than all the French cooking Francis loved to make him eat (Not that he would ever admit to liking it). He glanced over to Feliciano and could see he was obviously enjoying the food, but when he looked at Lovino, all he saw was his usual scowl. Arthur continued to stare at him, not realizing he was staring until Lovino looked up and stared back. Those hazel eyes held his gaze, challenging him to do something again. All he could do was stare back, having no idea what the challenge was.
"Um," Feliciano started timidly, interrupting their intense staring.
"What is it, Felici?"
"I'm done eating," he said softly.
"Alright." Lovino gathered their empty plates and dumped them into the sink and began washing them.
Feliciano stood on shaky legs. "Goodnight Arthur," he said, and made his way out of the kitchen, and to his room, leaving Arthur and Lovino alone together.
After a few moment of silence, except for the clink of plates, Arthur finally asked, "Would you tell me about your past if I asked?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because it's none of your business and I do not feel like satisfying your curiosity."
"How did you know...?"
Lovino turned to him, wiping his hands off on a nearby rag. "You've been dying from curiosity since I met you, that's how. Make things easier for yourself, and leave the past alone, leave me alone, and leave my brother alone. We are not new toys to entertain you, and don't think for a second, if given the choice, I wouldn't take my brother and leave."
Arthur stared at him in shock. "I... Do you really think I'm so shallow that I only think of you as toys?"
"No, but it's easier to think you are," Lovino answered, his voice void of all emotion. "Good night."
"Good night," he said softly, watching Lovino leave the room. He sat there, staring at the wall until the sun finally slipped below the horizon and threw the house into darkness. Feeling around blindly, he found his way out into the hall and walked slowly to his bedroom.
A soft voice sang out from behind the door that led to the room the brothers were in, causing him to stop and listen. The voice rose and fell with each different note, forming words to a language he didn't understand. It soothed him and left a strange aching in his chest. When the voice finally died away, he almost opened the door and asked whoever the singer was to continue. But he stopped himself and retreated into his room, that smooth melody echoing in his head.
This chapter is kinda short, but hopefully the next one will be longer. Now that I have finally have Lovi and Felici living with Arthur, things will start happening (hopefully). I will tell you now, in the upcoming chapters, Francis and Ludwig will be introduced, and I may or may not add Antonio to the mix, but that's all I'm willing to say on the future of this story. Thank you for reading and sending all your lovely reviews.
-Windy