Chapter Text
Gilbert woke up to the sound of knocking against wood. He had been sweating excessively and still had his clothes on from yesterday. He reached over to his clock to check the time, only to find out it was 11 in the morning. Slowly pushing himself off of the bed, he tried to brush out his hair with his fingers. Soon enough, he reached the door. Anxiously grabbing onto the doorknob, it swung open with a small click.
Gilbert lifted his head down, only for his eyes to be met with Veneziano. He had a small smile on his face with his hands behind his back as he gently swayed back and forth.
"Hi! I'm sorry to bother you Gilbert, but I kinda wanted to ask you about yesterday. Yikes, you look really worn out..."
He sighed, "What about yesterday?"
"Well, you asked me what he said! Aaand when I told you, you got mad and ran off."
"Your point being?" Gilbert replied, rubbing his eyes.
"I'm just confused, I guess. Did I say something wrong?" Veneziano flinched, nervous from Gilbert's sudden sarcasm.
"Look, don't worry about that, okay? I just need you to tell me exactly what happened in that room. Can you do that?"
"Uhm, y-yeah!" Veneziano exclaimed, still worried from how stern he had been acting. "I walked in there, and he put this in my hands." He said as he showed the string tied on his wrist. "Then, he told me to leave, but I wouldn't, no way! So then I made him tell me what happened, and he said he broke the plate and got mad. I hugged him and he was being really sweet, almost too sweet. But then I said bye and ran out and met you outside!"
Gilbert's face widened with every sentence. Did he seriously lie to his own brother? Although he didn't show it, Gilbert knew that Lovino really loved his brother, so why would he ever lie to him?
"Listen, Veneziano? I'm gonna need you to keep a close eye on your brother. Don't ask why, just do it, 'kay?"
"Oh, uh, yeah, okay! Speaking of which, I’ll visit him today, right now, actually!"
"I’ll come along too!" Gilbert blurted out, without thinking.
"Yeah! Uhm, not to sound rude, but you should probably get uh... cleaned up, first."
"Oh, yeah, you're right." He replied, looking down at his messed up clothes and sweaty palms.
"Well, while you're getting ready, I'll be heading to his house. See you there?"
"Yeah, see you there."
As Veneziano walked through town, he started to wonder, what did Gilbert and Lovino talk about in that room? Lovino was acting perfectly fine, so what was up with him? I'll just ask Lovino once I get there, he thought as he skipped ahead on the pattern of rocks decorating the ground beneath him.
It seemed like forever, but he finally made it to his brother's house. There were vines growing all around the lining of it, as well as blossoming pots of roses accessorizing the beautifully sun-kissed, golden windows.
Nervously walking up, he gently knocked against the hardwood door. In a flash, the door swung open to reveal Lovino. He had a small smile plastered on his face with his arms hidden behind his back.
"Veneziano, what a nice surprise! Please, come in."
"Huh, well, okay! Oh, I-I should let you know th-"
"What are you here for?" Lovino exclaimed, shutting the door behind him, still wearing that grin.
Veneziano's eyes widened. It was shocking how polite he was being. Normally Lovino was a big bully to him, always yelling at him and calling him an idiot. But now, he was holding the door for him and saying things he wouldn't even say to Gilbert. "Well, I was a bit worried about you yesterday, so I wanted to check on you. Oh, and Gilbert told me I should come and see you. Speaking of Gilbert, he should be coming over as well in a little while, if that's okay with you?"
Lovino said, as he ignored what Veneziano had just explained, "How's that holding up?" He pointed to the red ribbon tied around Veneziano's wrist.
"Oh, this?" He tugged on the ribbon slightly. "Yeah, it's fine. Why'd you give it to me anyways?"
"Just ask Grandpa Roma. He knows everything." Lovino giggled slightly, which was very abnormal. "Besides, it was gifted to me from him."
"Okay, Lovino?"
"Yes, fratello?"
"Look, you're my brother, and it's normal for siblings to be kind to each other," he paused, "but is something going on?"
Lovino stayed silent for a moment. Veneziano swore he saw the light fade away from his eyes as he stared back.
"Why would something be going on, Vene?"
Veneziano shivered at the name. Many people dear to him used that nickname on him, yet Lovino hadn't used it once. Something weird was going on, and Veneziano had to get to the bottom of it.
“...Well, ever since yesterday, you've been oddly kind to me; normally you're really blunt and short-tempered, but you're being very polite. I'm just asking, did something happen?"
Once again, the light seemed as if it had completely disappeared from his deep, chocolate colored eyes, yet his smile still remained.
Just as Lovino was going to start talking, he got interrupted by the sudden pounding against the door in front of him.
"Oh-"
"I'll get it." Lovino insisted, gently stepping towards the door.
As Lovino opened the door, his gentle smile slowly faded, but quickly got put back on as his eyes met with Gilbert's.
"Gilbert, It's nice to see you." Lovino said, shaking Gilbert's hand. "Veneziano let me know you were coming."
Gilbert had taken his hand, but he felt nothing but unfamiliarity. Lovino had never acted this way before, and he especially would never ask to shake his hand. While he was worried, he figured it was just an apology for yesterday.
"Oh, this is new." Gilbert chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Very funny, Gilbert, now come in." Lovino smiled.
"No, seriously, why are you being so formal?" Although Gilbert was smiling when he said it, deep down, he was worried.
"Non voglio proprio che tu, con quel tuo atteggiamento da 'mi dispiace', gli stia così vicino." He silently muttered.
"You don't want huh? I can barely speak Italian, you know that." Gilbert laughed.
"Heh, just come on." He grabbed ahold of Gilbert's wrist and pulled him inside.
"Veneziano, can you fill up a bucket of water for me outside? I could use the help."
"Yes, of course!" Veneziano jumped up, running over to the door.
Once the door clicked shut, Lovino turned his head back towards Gilbert. His smile had vanished, as well as his once sparkling eyes. The two were alone, once again, with so much to think, yet not enough to put into words.