Chapter Text
“Marianne! It’s so good to see you again. I’m so glad that you and your family could finally end up making it on the trip this summer!” Lovino’s grandfather exclaimed, rushing over and embracing the woman in an affectionate hug as she got out of her car. It merely made her laugh as the two began talking about some sort of meaningless drivel that Lovino cared nothing about.
Meanwhile, Lovino sat on the ground nearby, his arms crossed as he poked at the ground with a stick, watching his younger brother. He was in as foul of a mood as any eight year old would be when being taken away from the comforts of his own home. Even if it was only going to be for two weeks. Even if he’d had the exact same complaints for the past two years. Stupid camping trip. Stupid bugs. Stupid dirt. Stupid nature… Stupid potato heads. Stupid fratellino. Stupid Nonno. This is all his fault. I didn’t want to come on this stupid trip but he made me anyways. It’s not fair!
“Feliciano! Lovino! Come and say hello to the new campers!” Romulus called, waving the boys over to him.
“Ve~ Okay!” Feli exclaimed, the six year old skipping over to where their grandfather and a growing group of people were all gathering around and laughing.
“No! I don’t want to!” Lovino huffed, twisting around on the ground. He didn’t want to be there and he certainly didn’t want to be around anybody. He just wished that his grandfather would hurry up and set up their tent so that he could hide inside away from everybody else. He didn’t see the reason why his grandfather bothered setting up these yearly trips when it just seemed like a waste of time and too many people to Lovino.
Lovino rubbed at his eyes when they started burning slightly, pushing back any tears that were starting to well up. No, I’m not going to cry. I’m not! Not around these strangers, not ever!
“Excuse me? Are you Lovino?”
It was a woman’s voice.
Still pouting and rubbing his eyes, Lovino looked up at her. She had dark blonde hair, a gentle smile, and blue eyes that looked almost as if they could’ve been purple in the right lighting. She was the same woman that his grandfather had just been talking to. “Yeah, so?” he mumbled, puffing out his cheeks and trying to inch away. It wasn’t until Lovino saw the head of pretty blonde curls and bright violet eyes shyly peeking out from behind the woman’s skirt that he froze.
Whatever else the woman tried to say went completely over Lovino’s head as he continued to stare at the girl who nervously smoothed out the skirt of her mermaid scale sundress. She’s...beautiful… A dark flush crept across his face as she stepped forward and held out one of her hands. Her other was firmly holding a book of fairy tales to her chest.
“H-Hi. My name’s Mattie,” she mumbled, and Lovino instantly felt like he was going to melt into the ground. “I was...wondering if...you’d like to read with me?”
Gulping, Lovino shakily held out his own hand to hold Mattie’s. “C-C-C-Ciao. M-My name’s L-Lovino, but y-you can call m-m-me Lovi.” He bit his lip, quickly looking at the ground. Why can’t I talk right? My chest feels so funny and my face feels like fire… And her hand is really warm and soft… “I w-wouldn’t mind. Everyone else is being loud idiots right now anyways,” he mumbled, standing up and gently tugging on Mattie’s hand to lead her towards one of the nearby trees in the clearing.
Mattie smiled as she sat next to Lovino under the tree, opening the book across their laps. “I was just about to start reading Peter Pan . Have you ever read it before?”
“No. What’s it about?” Lovino asked, blinking in surprise as Mattie leaned her head against his shoulder. Her hair smelled like lavender.
“Well, there’s this land called Neverland, and it’s called that because if you go there, you never have to grow up,” Mattie replied, smiling brightly up at Lovino.
It just made his blush burn brighter as he quickly averted his gaze back to the pictures in the book. He listened intently though as Mattie explained the story to him and brought the characters to life. Of the Lost Boys living in the woods. Of fighting against the villainous Captain Hook and the crocodile. Of Tinkerbell and the fairies that could only live if people believed in them. Of the fairy dust that could give people the power to fly. Of the love story between Wendy and Peter.
Of course the one complaint that Lovino had was the kiss. “That wasn’t a real kiss. It was just a stupid thimble! If we were Wendy and Peter, then I would’ve given you a real one,” Lovino proclaimed proudly, only for his blush to overtake his cheeks once again. I can’t believe I just said that out loud. What if she thinks I’m an idiot for saying that!?
“...Really? You’d kiss me?”
Lovino blinked in surprise at the awe that was in Mattie’s voice, her violet eyes seeming to sparkle. “O-Of course I would,” he mumbled, holding onto Mattie’s hand. Taking a deep breath, he leaned in, pressing a quick peck to her cheek. “I would run away with you to Neverland…”
Mattie’s smile made Lovino’s heart flutter as she turned back to the book, leaning her head on his shoulder again and delving back into the stories. It wasn’t long before her voice, amidst a series of yawns, eventually trailed off into silence.
As he glanced down at the sleeping girl and eventually leaned his head against Mattie’s, he had the distinct thought that if she was going to be there, then he wouldn’t mind the camping trip that much after all.
The two weeks camping together passed far too quickly for Lovino’s liking though.
No matter how much they had pretended to be Wendy and Peter; no matter how much they had pretended to be part of the Lost Boys living in Neverland; no matter how much Lovino pretended to fight off Captain Hook and Mister Smee, courtesy of Antonio and Gilbert respectively, in order to save his Wendy; no matter how much time they spent being inseparable and nearly glued to the other’s side… No matter how much they tried to find the star that would lead them to Neverland, time still crept up on them.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave,” Lovino mumbled, staring down at his feet so that Mattie wouldn’t have to see the tears in his eyes. “I’m going to miss you…”
“I’m going to miss you too, Lovi…” Mattie murmured, throwing her arms around the brunette in a tight hug that Lovino couldn’t help but to return with equal enthusiasm. “B-But Maman said that we’ll be able to come on the camping trip again next year!”
“Mattie! It’s time to go!” Marianne called from where she had finished loading up their car, holding open the door.
Biting her lip, Mattie reluctantly let go and took a step back from Lovino as they both looked down at the book that was in her hands. Taking a deep breath, she held the book out to Lovino who raised a confused eyebrow. “Here. I want you to keep our book. That way you can remember our time in Neverland together…”
Tears slid down Lovino’s cheeks with renewed vigor as he nodded, clinging the book to his chest as Mattie pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll never forget…”