Arthur woke up earlier than usual, the sun just barely beginning its trip into the sky. He laid in bed, his thoughts wandering over the previous day's...progress? Should he really call it progress? It hadn't been the best way make 'progress', remembering Lovino's shaking body in his arms still caused that strange ache in his chest, but maybe Lovino would finally begin to trust him. He could only hope.
Beside him, a lump of blankets moved, nearly scaring his eyebrows off. Much to his surprise, when he pulled back the blankets, they revealed that, for some reason, Feliciano had sneaked into his bed during the night.
Does this mean Lovino didn't come in last night?
Arthur had done as Lovino told him to, making sure Feliciano was fed, quelling any worries the boy might have for his older brother, and seeing him to his bed when night finally fell. Feliciano had been reluctant to sleep without his brother, but Arthur had assured him many times that Lovino would come in soon. Apparently, he hadn't come in, and Feliciano couldn't stand sleeping alone.
'Maybe he ran,' a traitorous voice in his head whispered. Impossible. He would never leave his brother alone...right?
He quietly slipped out of bed, careful not to wake the sleep boy. In the dim light, he slowly dressed himself in the clothes he'd set out the night before. It wasn't long before he silently made his way out of the room and down the dark hallways to the door that led outside.
Shivers ran up his spine when his bare feet came in contact with the still dew covered grass. The air around him held an early chill, promising a cold winter in the following months. He walked to the place he had left Lovino standing, only to find it empty of the Italian.
"Are you looking for me?"
He whirled around to face the very tired, bedraggled Lovino. The young man's hair had a few leaves to stuck to it and his clothes were damp and dirty in some spots. "Did you sleep outside?"
"What do you think?" Lovino snapped at him, sending an exhausted glare his way. "Oh, shut up. I didn't mean to fall asleep outside," he grumbled before Arthur could say anything, and stomped inside.
Arthur chuckled softly, and followed the grumpy Italian. It occurred to him, Lovino hadn't cursed at him once, yet. Although, he might just be too tired to insult him, but he hoped that wasn't it, not having profanity said to him was a nice change. "We should get you and your brother new clothes," he said, tugging at a loose string on Lovino's sleeve.
"Let me do some actual work before you start buying shit for us," Lovino growled at him.
"But you already cook for me." He gave the other man a funny look. "And if you need it, which you do, we should get it now."
"Let me earn it first!"
"You have. Your cooking is the first real meal I've had in months." He frowned. The last time he had a somewhat edible meal (of not his own making) was when Francis had surprised him with a visit without telling him. Of course, he received a letter two days after he arrived, saying he would be visiting soon.
Lovino sighed and glared at him. "Whatever. You need more food to cook with, anyway. We have just enough to have a light breakfast."
They would have to start buying enough food to feed three people, not that Arthur had had much food stored in the first place. They'd have to buy everything from the market, expect milk and eggs; he got those delivered to his home every few days. "Alright. Go wake Feliciano, he's in my room, and then we'll go out."
"Fine— What?" Lovino yelled, looking ready to lunge at Arthur's throat with the knife in his hand that seemed to appear from nowhere.
"Whoa! Whoa!" He held up his hands, and back away from the homicidal, over-protective older brother. "I didn't do anything!"
Lovino stared at him, then slowly relaxed back into his normal posture, still not putting away the knife he twirled between his fingers. "Sorry about him. He probably got lonely and snuck into your room. But it you ever touch my brother, I will castrate you."
He wasn't about to admit how menacing the Italian looked, eyes narrowed dangerously with that knife glinting in and out of the low light. It excited him in ways it shouldn't. "Of course," he said slowly, never taking his eyes away from Lovino's. "I would never do that to your brother. Now, put the knife away, please."
The other rolled his eyes, and the knife disappeared into the folds of his clothes. "Don't get polite and shit. The knife is just for show. Although, I wouldn't hesitate to whack off your dick if I needed to," Lovino said in an almost playful tone. And was that a hint of smile?
It didn't take long to realize, Lovino was just joking with him now. "Haha, now be quiet."
The Italian rolled his eyes and walked into Arthur's bedroom. Feliciano was still asleep, just as he had left him, only the sleeping boy had rolled over to lay nearly horizontal on the bed. "Feliciano. Time to wake up," Lovino said, pulling the blankets away.
"Noooo..." Feliciano groped blindly for the blankets, before giving up and curling into a tight ball.
"Feliciano," the older brother said sternly. "Don't make me tell you again."
The younger brother reluctantly sat up, yawning loudly. "But I'm tired. Why didn't you come in last night? I wanted to look for you, but it's dark and scary outside."
Lovino fought back his guilty feelings and tried to scowl. "I fell asleep. You shouldn't climb into strangers' beds when you're lonely."
"But I got cold sleeping alone," Feliciano whined softly, his eyes cast down at the sheets. "And I hate being alone..."
He knew what Feliciano really meant by hating being alone; he was afraid. Afraid of Lovino leaving and never coming back. Afraid that there'd be no one left to love him in this cruel world. Lovino didn't blame him. Feliciano had grown up soft, sheltered, and loved by all around him, unlike Lovino. "I know, fratellino," he said almost gently, reaching a hand up to roughly ruffle his brother's hair. "I won't do it again, it leaves me too stiff."
Feliciano nodded and rose unsteadily to his feet, leaning heavily on the bed for support. "If you say so."
"Do you have problems feeling your fingers and toes in the mornings?" Arthur asked, having been watching from the door the entire time.
"Yes," Feliciano answered, sounding surprised. "Do you know why?"
Arthur moved closer. "I believe it's poor blood circulation." He took one of Feliciano's icy hands and rubbed in between his. "I suggest every night either you or Lovino rub your hands and feet. It'll help the blood flow, and maybe it'll be easier for you to walk after a while."
The younger boy smiled at him. "Veh, grazie. You'll help me with that, won't you, Lovi?"
"Sure, whatever," Lovino grumbled. "Come on, I'm hungry and tired."
Feliciano attached himself to his brother's arm and leaned on him as they walked out of the room, Arthur trailing not too far behind them. He took this moment to look over their thin clothes. Both of them wore shirts too large for their slim frames, and their trousers came down just short of their ankles, both items were badly patched and frayed. Lovino didn't even have shoes! That didn't sit right with him. From what he could tell, Lovino had gotten his brother the better clothes and had gone so far as to make sure he had shoes.
"Where are your shoes?"
Lovino looked back at him and glared, his mouth set in a thin line. "None of your damn business."
"Don't feel bad, Arthur, he won't tell me either." Feliciano smiled, but he could tell this made the younger brother unhappy.
"Shut up, both of you," Lovino growled and shooed his brother into the kitchen and to a chair. "I don't need fucking shoes."
Before Lovino could do anything, Arthur pushed him into a chair and took one of his feet. "I highly disagree. You have quite a few open sores and cuts, it must hurt," he said, pressing his thumb against a bloody blister.
"Ow," the man hissed, trying to jerk away from his touch. "Don't press on it like that!"
"Stay there. I have some medicine that will help, and some shoes you can borrow until we get you a pair of your own." He let go of Lovino's foot to search through the cabinet that held all his medicines and other supplies.
"I don't need any help," the other growled and stood up without any hesitation, not even wincing.
"Sit back down." Arthur gave the other man one of his stares that he kept in reserve for his most stubborn patients. When Lovino didn't move, he added, "I don't want it to get infected and have to cut your legs off. That's always such a mess."
Reluctantly, the stubborn Italian sat back down, grumbling in what he guess was Italian. And from the way Feliciano gasped, Arthur figured it wasn't something too nice.
"It's rude to talk about me when I can't understand what you're saying," Arthur said, kneeling and taking Lovino's foot again, setting down a small lidded pot and a bowl of hot water. He dipped a clean rag into the water and gentle dabbed the cuts and sores, cleaning them of any dirt or rocks.
"Fuck you," Lovino hissed, his cheeks aflame with blush. "It's not my fault your don't know Italian, and I didn't ask for you to help."
"I know, but your feet must hurt and... U-Uh, so how did you lose your shoes, anyway?" He was glad his face was turned down, or Lovino would have seen the light blush spreading across his cheeks. He didn't like to think of Lovino being in pain at all, it made him feel strange. He smeared poultice on to Lovino's foot and wrapped it up in cotton bandages, then doing the same to the other foot.
"I didn't lose them," the other grumbled, refusing to look at him, "I just didn't need them."
Arthur frowned up at Lovino. How long had the Italian been walking around bare-foot? From the tough calluses and many scars of cuts and sores, he would say quite awhile. "I'll go get those shoes," he said, letting it go for the moment. Arthur rose to his feet, putting all his supplies in their proper places, before leaving the room.
"Does it hurt?" Feliciano finally asked, staring at his brother in concern.
"No," he lied immediately, and stood up. "Don't start being concerned like that faking bastard."
"Arthur? I don't think he's faking."
"Of course you don't! You'd trust anyone willing to take care of people like us!" He cut the last of the bread into three, thick slices. Arthur's kitchen was surprisingly well stocked with pot and pans for a man who didn't cook.
"That's exactly why we should trust him! I don't think he would want to spend time and money on us if he was truly a bad person!" Feliciano cried, his throat beginning to burn.
"That's exactly why we shouldn't trust him!" He slammed his fist down. Yesterday, he'd been tricked - yes, tricked - into trusting that man. He woke up this morning, and couldn't believe that he had cried in that man's arms. "People don't help thieves and sick people unless there's money or something to gain! We are outcasts, even among the others like us! Remember why we chose to live in that drafty barn, we didn't belong with the other homeless fucks!"
"I know, but— " Feliciano broke down into a fit of coughing, his whole body jerking from the force of his coughs. When he finally stopped, Feliciano rasped, "Please, trust someone."
Lovino set a cup of water down for his brother. "I've gotten us this far by trusting no one, and I will keep going just as I am."
"But how much farther would we have gotten if you had?" Feliciano asked softly, sipping the water.
He shoved a piece of toasted bread and cheese in front of his brother, and hissed, "You don't know shit, Feliciano. Grandpa taught you a bunch of crap that isn't worth anything in the real world." Lovino watched his brother's honey-colored eyes begin to tear up.
"T-That's not true! He taught me how to help people be happy!"
"Wake up, we are not rich anymore. Grandpa is dead. Smiling is for the people with a home, with good money, with family," he said coldly, hating the way tears slid down his younger brother's cheeks, but he was too tired to do anything about it.
"W-Why are you like this?" Feliciano sobbed and pressed his palms to his eyes.
He opened his mouth to speak, but what was he to say? He supposed Grandpa started him this way, and the world taught him the rest, taught him to hate, lie, cheat, and never, ever trust anyone. "Shut up and eat. This conversation is over." Lovino began munching on his own slice of bread.
Arthur had come back somewhere in the middle of the argument, choosing not to interrupt. But maybe he should have, from the way Feliciano was crying and Lovino stared coldly into space. He didn't know how they got in such a fight in the short time it took for him to get his old shoes. It must be an Italian thing.
He cleared his throat and drew the attention of two vastly different stares. Oh, how he hated the tense atmosphere. "Shoes?"
Without a word, Lovino took the shoes and shoved them roughly on to his feet, and then handed him a piece of toast with a slice of cheese on it. Arthur couldn't tell if Lovino was actually angry or just upset, either way, it wasn't pleasant seeing the two brother look at anything but each other. "Did you tell Feliciano where we're going today?" He asked cautiously, taking a bite of the lightly toasted bread.
"No."
Feliciano looked up at him curiously, his eyes still wet from crying. "Am I going too?"
"If you want. Do you think you can handle walking around? We're going to buy new clothes for you two and some other necessary things."
"Really? Can I get a dress?" The boy looked like an excited puppy, his tears forgotten.
"No, you cannot! You have grown up and dressed are for girls!" Lovino chocked on his muffled laughter. "I though you grew out of that."
The younger brother pouted. "Don't laugh!"
"Uh, dresses?" Arthur was glad they could let things go so easily. When he and one of his brothers fought, usually they would go a few weeks pretending the other didn't exist and not speak to each other until Owen forced them to make up again.
"Feliciano use to dress like a girl when he was younger," Lovino explained. "And he sounded like one too."
"Signorina Elizabeta said I looked cute!" Feliciano smiled at the thoughts of his old nursemaid. "I wonder what happened to her."
"She probably married Roderich and found a better job than dressing your ass in the mornings." Lovino's mouth twitched into a half-smile to show he was just teasing.
"But you use to wear a dress too," Feliciano commented innocently.
Lovino flushed brightly and glared at his little brother. "Shut the hell up. That was only once or twice, and I wore pants underneath mine!"
The image of Lovino in a dress flashed across Arthur's mind, and a bright blush spread all the way to his ears and down his neck. At first, he thought of those French maid dresses that Francis loved to make his female (and sometimes male) servants wear, but he decided white lace didn't suit Lovino. 'Something red would be better,' he thought. 'Red would compliment his tan skin nicely.' He violently shook himself from his thoughts before they got too out of hand, and arousing.
"Let's get going, before it gets crowded at the market," he said quickly and looked away from the brothers.
"Yes! I haven't been out in forever!" Feliciano began bouncing in his seat.
"Calm down, Feliciano," Lovino growled.
"I have a carriage, but I don't know how to drive it and—"
"That's fine. I can drive it," Lovino interrupted him.
"Fratello use to drive carts and wagons, and help the farmers with their crops to earn money," Feliciano said and got to his feet. He hooked arms with his older brother and set off through the back door, letting Arthur lead them to the stable. Arthur showed Lovino the small, open top carriage, while Feliciano greeted the horses.
"Feliciano! Get away from that fucking horse."
"It's alright, he's not going to bother them," Arthur reassured him.
"You'd be surprised by some of the shit he pulls when I'm not looking," Lovino grumbled. "Which horse do you use to pull this thing?"
"Well, I only have two..."
"This only needs one horse to pull it. Bring me...er...Mint, we'll take her," Lovino ordered.
He nodded and led Mint out of her stable and to Lovino. Arthur watched in amazement as the Italian whispered softly to the animal and fixed the harness on her, and hooked her to the carriage, something he had never managed to do by himself. "You're rather good with horses."
"You have to get good at a lot of things to best survive in the tough times of life," Lovino said as he tightened the straps on Mint. "Or, that's at least what my grandfather taught me. Feliciano, get your ass over here and load up!"
His younger brother said his goodbye to the black gelding he was petting and seated himself. Arthur sat next to Feliciano and Lovino sat up front. Lovino snapped the reigns once, and Mint began to walk.
School will be starting soon, and I don't know if I'll be able to make weekly updates. This is my last update before school starts and if updates become slow, that's the reason. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
-Windy