AN: Here's a new chapter.
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Spamano4ever: Indeed he did.
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Enjoy.
As soon as Vash and Lovino were outside, Vash closed the door and watched Lovino take a seat on the front porch steps. He sighed and sat down beside him. "So, Lili told me what happened,"he said softly. "I'm proud of you."
Lovino looked over at Vash for a moment before he shrugged. "As if I'd let her get hurt. She's my baby sister as much as she is yours. Quite literaly now that you've adopted Feli and me as brothers."he commented. "She's too innocent to have to deal with those bastards."
Vash laughed softly. "That she is."he said. "Still. Thank you for defending her. I'm sorry that you got hurt, Bruder. You'd think..with your past..a lot of people have come to me who've caught bits and pieces of your past with all the crap happening recently..stating how shocked they were that you'd still put yourself in harm's way for another person.."
Lovino looked down. "I'm trying to make up for my mistakes."he admitted. "I have to."
Vash was quiet for a long moment before he sighed. "Listen, Lovino..I know it feels like you made everyone feel so ashamed..but I am so very proud of you. For all you've gone through..all of that..it made you such an amazing person. Am I sad you had to go through that? Yeah, I am. I won't hide that. Am I ashamed to call you a brother after it? Fuck no. It just shows me how strong you are, how far you'd go to protect those you love."
"Can we..can we please not talk about this right now?"Lovino asked.
"I talked to your dad today. Feli knows. He got to speak with him. He yelled at him."Vash said.
Lovino looked up at Vash with wide eyes. "What..?"he said. "When? Where?"
Vash shook his head. "He came by, maybe ten minutes after you and Antonio left for your date. Your nonno had been giving him and your mom updates on how you and Feli were doing, what was going on."he said.
Lovino let out a huff.
"Listen, Lovi..I won't lie and say he's proud of you. He said some pretty god awful things about you, actually. Feli jumped in before I could say anything, and basically told him that if he had such a problem with you, then why the hell was he even here, because you were the reason that he was still alive to begin with."Vash said quietly.
Lovino looked back down at that. He should've known. His dad would never be proud of him.
Vash felt his heart break when he watched Lovino's head go down and eyes close, knowing that the boy had just had his heart shattered. "But your mother said that she was coming home. She left him,"
Lovino's eyes flew open again and he met Vash's eyes, hope finally appearing in his own for the first time in years.
Feli and me won't be on our own anymore... Lovino thought, a few tears falling.
Vash carefully wiped them away and spoke softly. "She said she was very proud of you, looking after your brother like that. She's going to be home tomorrow, when we get back from school."
Lovino smiled faintly.
"But..I have a request to make..stay with the rest of us after school. There's something you need to see..to hear."
Lovino nodded in understanding and Vash gave him a gentle hug. "Ich liebe dich, Bruder."he said softly. "Ich bin sehr stolz auf dich."
Lovino smiled. "I love you too."
Vash released him then and led him back inside.
Antonio raised an eyebrow at the faint smile on Lovino's face. He hadn't expected it.
Feliciano grinned. "Did big brother tell you?"he asked happily.
Lovino met his brother's eyes, smiling in return. "Yeah, he did."he said, moving to take a seat with Antonio, who wrapped his arms around him.
Nobody said anything else on the matter.
_S&S_-
The following morning, Lovino woke up in a pretty good mood. Antonio and him ended up joking around a lot at school before first block, gaining soft laughs from the others. Feliciano was using Ludwig as a prop to keep him upright, and Lovino couldn't help but smile at the sight of them. He hadn't been very keen on it in the beginning, sure, but Ludwig kept his brother safe and happy. That's all he could ever ask.
The day flew by for the group. Lovino was pulled into the auditorium by a hyperactive Feliciano, making him laugh lightly.
Vash, who was sitting on the stage smiled at him. "Lovi, have a seat."
Both of the brothers sat down with the others.
As soon as everyone was seated, Vash spoke again. "Alright, Lovi..I know you'll hate me for doing this later, but..you need to hear this. It goes along with the conversation we had last night. Something that you said, mostly. I want you to really listen to the lyrics, okay?"
Lovino nodded once.
Vash seemed hesitant, but he did start singing after a split second's hesitation, making Feliciano grin.
"I guess you really did it this time, left yourself in your war path, lost your balance on the tight rope, lost your mind trying to get it back. Wasn't it easier in your lunch-box days? Always a bigger bed to crawl into. Wasn't it beautiful, when you believed in everything, and everybody believed in you? It's alright, just wait and see, your string of lights is still bright to me. Who you are is not where you've been, you're still an innocent."
Lovino's smiled had disappeared. He met Vash's eyes as the Swiss continued.
"Did some things you can't speak of, but at night you live it all again. You wouldn't be shattered on the floor now, if only you had seen what you know now then.. Wasn't it easier in your fire-fly catching days? When everything out of reach someone bigger brought down to you? Wasn't it beautiful, running wild till you fell asleep, before the monsters caught up to you? It's alright just wait and see, your string of lights is still bright to me. Who you are is not where you've been, you're still an innocent. It's okay, life is a tough crowd...who you are is not what you did, you're still an innocent."
Lovino looked down for a moment in thought, glancing back up at the next bit.
"Time turns flames to embers, you'll have new Septembers, every one of us has messed up too. Minds change like the weather, I hope you remember today is never too late to be brand new."
Vash stopped there and spoke softly. He didn't sing the next couple of lines, but he did say them. "It's alright, just wait and see. Your string of lights is still bright to me. Who you are is not where you've been. You're still an innocent. It's okay, life is a tough crowd...who you are is not what you did, you're still an innocent."
Still an innocent, huh? Lovino thought. He didn't respond for the longest, so Vash spoke again. "Lovino?"
Lovino didn't look up.
"No! Stop! Please.." It echoed in the quiet. One mistake after another. He hadn't been home to look after Feliciano in days. Vash was probably struggling to keep the younger Italian calm.
"Shut up, kid!" A harsh voice. Followed by an even harsher punch. He felt one of the bones in his arm snap. He whimpered, but didn't say anything.
Instead, tears started falling.
"Aw, look at the wittle baby cwy."
Lovino glared at the man in front of him. "Shut up, bastard."he snapped, spitting at his feet.
Another hit, this one right across his left cheek. "You never learn. Do you?"
Lovino didn't respond. He knew the drill by now. He wasn't supposed to.
"Just a worthless child. You mean nothing to anyone. Nobody would care if you were dead. You're not the same innocent kid you were when you started, and everyone knows it. Everyone will know what you've done here..what you will still do."
Lovino didn't argue. He knew it was true. How could anyone care? He was trash, he knew that.
"Lovino!"Vash said, his voice closer. It snapped the Italian from his memory. He looked up with haunted eyes at his elder brother. When Lovino responded to that, Vash relaxed a little bit. "Those sorry bastards really did a number on you, huh?"
Lovino sighed. "Can we just go home?"he asked.
Vash nodded and backed up.
When they started on the way back to the Vargas home, Antonio noticed Lovino lagging behind and half smiled, pulling the tiny Italian onto his back so he could carry him home.
Lovino smiled faintly. "Grazie,"he mumbled, resting his chin on Antonio's shoulder and taking in his scent.
As soon as they reached the porch, Lovino got off Antonio's back, only to be sweeped into a hug by someone. "Lovi..."
Lovino squirmed slightly. "Madre?"he asked.
A soft laugh.
Lovino was finally released, and found himself being examined by gentle hands.
Honey coloured eyes matching Feliciano's took in the dark bruise forming on Lovino's cheek. "What happened here?"
"He was protecting Lili yesterday, ma'am."Vash said.
Quiet fell over the group until Lovino hid behind Antonio again. Mother or not, he didn't like this. He'd never been good with accepting affection from people he didn't know well.
Here you go, loves.