AN: Hola.

Here's the new chapter. By the way..just on a side-note, my bet-driven cosplay went wonderfully. I shall never cosplay as Norway again, though. I failed miserably. Sve got a kick out of it, but I didn't.

To those who reviewed:

GothicKitty1313: Yeah, things will..come together, I guess you could say, eventually. ; As far as my Su-san..he does talk to me a lot..but considering that outside of cosplay we are dating..that's probably why. Inside of cosplay, he does well at not saying much. Staying blank faced? Not so much.

Guest: ...your grammar and spelling amaze me, no offense.

Enjoy.

"I have something to live for."

Feliciano was beyond glad that Lovino had said that. It meant he was content, if not happy, with his current life.

Everyone else was already asleep, but Feliciano stayed awake, thinking things over. Even Lovino was fast asleep against Antonio. But he knew that his brother would be gone first thing the following morning. He wouldn't be Lovi.

So, the following morning, when Feliciano woke up to the sound of someone playing guitar and singing softly, he blinked his eyes open tiredly and stared at them until he realized it was Lovino. "Fratello?"he asked, rubbing his eyes.

Lovino looked up before he stopped playing. "Hey Feli."

Feliciano got up and moved to curl up beside his brother, who half smiled and pressed a kiss to his temple.

Gilbert looked over at the brothers. This wasn't like them. They never acted like this, even with each other.

Lovino's phone went off then and he glanced at it before he gave Feliciano an apologetic look. "Feli, I gotta go,"he said softly. "I promise I'll be back soon. Ti amo, fratello."

With that, the elder got up and headed out, setting the guitar against a wall as he did so.

Ti amo. Feliciano's eyes had gone wide when he heard that. The last time he'd said that, he'd come back hurt.

Francis sighed. "He'll be fine, Feli. He can hold his own,"he offered.

Feliciano looked over at Francis. "But..but..the last time he told me he loved me before he left like this, he came back with a bullet lodged in his arm, Francis. It's never a good thing if he says ti amo to me before going somewhere like this,"

The panic in the younger Italian's voice surprised everyone, but Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Feli. Breathe. Both of you are going to be fine. You act like we haven't been planning all morning,"

That calmed Feliciano down a little bit, but it still wasn't much, it wasn't enough to get him to relax.

That day was one of the tensest the group had ever gone through. Lovino came back around six and Feliciano automatically got up, moving to check his brother over for injuries.

"Oh, calm down, you fucking worrywart,"Lovino said, rolling his eyes.

But Feliciano didn't miss the way that Lovino held his side. "What happened!"he demanded, crossing his arms.

Lovino held his free hand up in surrender and let his other one drop.

Oh. Good, just a minor cut, Feliciano thought before pulling his brother to the couch and finding a first aid kit so he could doctor his brother. Like he used to do when he got hurt like this.

Ludwig watched this curiously. "So, what happened?"
"Someone had bad aim with a throwing knife. I just got cuffed by it on my walk back. It's nothing, could have been worse."

Feliciano glowered. "You could've had a knife stuck in your side, Lovi. Worse is not the word to use."he huffed.

Lovino nodded once in understanding. He let his brother finish before giving him a hug. "You worry too much,"he murmured.

"Of course I do,"Feliciano mumbled.

Lovino winced when Feliciano pulled him into a tight hug. "Feli, I can't breathe,"he managed.

Feliciano released him and gave him a searching look. "So, what were you doing?"
"I went to talk with someone about performing at some bars and stuff for money until I could get a stable job,"Lovino said softly. "I was just stupid and took a few lesser known shortcuts on the way back,"

Feliciano nodded and let his brother get up again.

After Lovino disappeared down the hall, Feliciano sighed. "Why does he always end up hurt?"he grumbled.

"I've been asking that same question since I met him,"Gilbert commented. "But..he does this because he cares, so at least it's not because he's masochistic or anything,"

Feliciano gave Gilbert a deadpan look. "You need to shut up,"he warned. "Because I don't feel like listening to your snide remarks,"

Gilbert blinked in surprise. Feliciano had never snapped at him like that. Ever.

The group fell silent until Lovino came back into the room and spoke. "So..who feels up to helping me with dinner?"

Antonio rolled his eyes, getting up to go help Lovino in the kitchen.

Things settled after that. Lovino was back to normal.

Dinner was uneventful. Feliciano ended up curling up afterwards between Lovino and Ludwig, listening to the conversation around him.

After a while, Lovino looked at his brother, frowning. He was never this quiet. Silence lasted for a moment before Lovino spoke. "Feli? I have something for you to hear,"

Feliciano met his brother's gaze, so Lovino started singing softly, keeping his voice just loud enough to be heard from a short distance.

"Until the day I die, I'll spill my heart for you...for you."

Feliciano knew the song. Lovino used to sing it for him quite often. He nodded, letting Lovino know he could stop.

Lovino did so, but tilted his head. "I mean it when I say that as long as I'm alive that I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. If that means getting shot for you, I will. So stop being such a worrywart. If I can avoid it, I'm not going to get hurt, because I have to look after you,"he said quietly.

Feliciano met Lovino's gaze once again and tilted his head.

A silent question.

Do you really mean that?

Lovino half smiled. "Lo giuro sulla mia vita, ho intenzione di essere qui per voi. Fino a quando posso essere."he said quietly, making a crossing motion over his heart and gaining a soft smile from Feliciano for it.

Feliciano nodded that he understood and gave his brother a gentle hug, careful not to hurt him more than he already was.

Lovino gave a tilted smile. "By the way, Feli?"he asked.

Feliciano blinked at him. "What..?" He didn't like that smile. He knew where Lovino had learned it from. He hated that smile.

Lovino reached out, taking the pendant of the necklace that he'd put around his brother's neck earlier and twisting it slightly in his hand to where he could drag a small blade from a hiding spot. He held it up in Feliciano's view. "Keep this necklace on when you go somewhere. You never know when you might be able to use this, keep yourself safe,"he whispered, putting the blade back.

Gilbert was giving Lovino a look. "What the hell, man?! You wore that necklace to school. Do you know how much trouble comes with having any sort of weapon on school grounds.

"At least I didn't have a gun,"Lovino responded. "It's not like I'd ever use something like that if I didn't have to. I'm not evil,"

Gilbert still gave him a disapproving look, but he said nothing further.

Antonio wrapped his arms around Lovino, gaining his attention while Feliciano examined the pendant closer, a bit surprised. "Lovi, you realize that that necklace could get both of you in trouble."

"It's also been the determining factor of if I lived or not before. I don't want to hear your speech, Toni, no offense. Feli and me..we aren't cruel, it's perfectly safe for us to have that kind of necklace. We'd never use the blade unless our lives were in danger or something."Lovino said, looking back at his boyfriend.

He went to continue, but Antonio pressed a soft kiss to his lips, effectively making him stop talking since he hadn't expected that.

Antonio gave him a look when he pulled back. "I'm not saying you shouldn't have it. I'm saying be careful with it,"

Lovino nodded and sighed.
Feliciano nodded as well, though his nod was a bit more absent seeming as he frowned at the pendant. He'd finally got around to reading the inscription on the back of the necklace. Pure Italian.

Silence fell again. Then Ludwig spoke up. "How'd you even get ahold of something like this?"he asked, motioning towards the pendant on the necklace.

Lovino shrugged. "I have another one just like it at home. They were given to me by nonno a few years ago, back when I was around eleven. Said that when I felt it was time, to give Feli one of them."

Ludwig nodded that he understood.

The day hadn't turned out as planned, but that wasn't a bad thing, really.

Here. Missed the bus, worked on this in my spare time while waiting on a ride to school. Hope you enjoyed!