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Lovino cursed himself over to hell and back. He couldn’t even blame Feliciano for this one. He was the one driving recklessly. He was the one who got distracted by an ad for a tomato harvest. And now he stood a distance from a totaled Ferrari 250 California. The car was currently in a ditch with a smashed front end as a result from a collision with a tree. Lovino also thanked his lucky stars that he and Feliciano had escaped with only seemingly light injuries.
Feliciano was a quivering mess next to Lovino. He was still in a shock from the accident that had occurred. He couldn’t focus on the police officers surveying the crash site, taking notes for a police report. Nor could he focus on the firemen who came up to the brothers to do an initial health check before the paramedics arrived. When he was able to, he held onto his brother for a sense of safety.
Lovino understood his brother’s anxiety, as shown by holding back. He was also shaken up by the preceding events. This would be a tough lesson to learn from, that was for sure.
The paramedics showed up to the scene shortly after. They did first aid on the brothers immediately, making the brothers separate from their comfort hugs. One paramedic delivered the news that it was recommended for both of the Vargas brothers to go to the hospital as a precaution for any serious injuries that were missed. Both of them went with the paramedics reluctantly.
The brothers stayed at the hospital overnight and were discharged that morning. Lovino was once again thanking his lucky stars that he and Feliciano had escaped with only some light cuts and bruises. Feliciano’s anxiety went away after a good night’s sleep, but he was still a bit on edge.
Without a car, the both of them were stuck waiting for a bus to come to the stop on the same street corner as the hospital. The hospital was on the opposite side of town from their home, and they were both in no condition for a long walk. Neither of the brothers spoke as they sat on the bench. Waiting for the bus reminded them both of the matter that needed to be discussed: getting a new car. Neither wanted to talk about it.
The bus home was equally as silent between the brothers, with the exception of greeting the bus driver. Feliciano was only looking out the window while Lovino was left with his thoughts again. The matter of needing a car continued to place its weight on both brothers. Neither still wanted to talk about it. The elder brother failed to realize that they were at their stop until Feliciano stood up from his seat. From there, the walk home was only 5 minutes.
As soon as they could, a necessary siesta was in order.
~~~~~~~~Time Skip~~~~~~~~
Normal life went on for the brothers for the next month. Their injuries healed up nicely as no long-term issues came up. Feliciano was more back to his happy self and Lovino was getting better too. Although getting a new car had still not been discussed. Initially, seeing any Ferrari brought both of them back to the day of the accident, making them not want to bring the topic of cars up. Both of them relied on public transportation or walking to get around during the month. Even when the weather wasn’t friendly, as Lovino once came home soaking wet from the storm that showed up while he was out (resulting in Feliciano pampering him, much to his appreciation and annoyance).
One night at the dinner table, the much-needed discussion was held. “Err…Fratello. We should talk about getting a new vehicle.” Feliciano twirled some noodles onto his fork.
Lovino sighed. It had to be done. “Sí. We can’t rely on public transportation forever.” Nor for the weather to always be dry. “As fun as the Ferrari was, maybe we should get an average car.”
“Ve~. Cars are getting faster now, but not equal to a Ferrari.”
Both of them remembered how fun it was to drive super-fast with their Ferrari. The joy each of them got with the wind in their hair and the adrenaline rush from the thrill of it all. Plus, they were nations. They’ve died or been closer to death from war and disease long before crashing the car. It would only get messy if the government had to cover up how they got out of a crash alive when it would have killed any other citizen.
“We’ve been through much worse than a fucking car crash.” Lovino said. “If we do get another car like the Ferrari, I would like to have another car as a backup.”
“That’s the spirit! Ve~”
“I’ve heard anyway that another business is building up to be a rival of Ferrari.”
“Oooooohhh what business?”
“There was a newspaper ad on it. Let me go find it.” Lovino went to the living room.
Feliciano finished up the rest of his plate while waiting for Lovino to return.
“Here it is.” Lovino handed the advert to his brother. “Lamborghini is getting cars to the market after being founded a year ago.”
“We can go check them out. They may have something better.”
“We’ll go tomorrow.” Lovino finished up his dinner. “I’m fucking tired and they close soon anyway.”
“Sounds good!” Leftovers were stored for tomorrow and the dishes were put away. The Vargas brothers were content as nothing could be done until tomorrow. They were also curious about what Lamborghini could offer. Ferrari had been dominant in the market for years at this point. It would be interesting if Lamborghini could match or outdo Ferrari.
~~~~~~~~Tomorrow~~~~~~~~
They got up early to head to the dealership where Lamborghinis were being sold. That was located on the edge of the city, resulting in the brothers relying on public transportation once again. And hopefully for the last time for a long while.
The bus ride was not eventful. There were only and elderly lady and a gentleman in a suit as the other passengers. They minded their own business, allowing the brothers to chitchat during the ride.
At the dealership, the brothers were greeted by a man named Mario as soon as they got there. Business was incredibly slow at the dealership with only two other customers present asides from the Vargas brothers. Lovino was hoping to be able to look around first, to his dismay.
“How can I help you today?” Mario put on his best customer service face.
“We’re here to look at some Lamborghinis.” Feliciano replied with a smile.
“Well, I can help you with that if you need a specific color. You see, we only have one model for sale currently.”
“One model?” Lovino barely held back a swear out of politeness.
Mario nodded. “Lamborghini is only now just getting cars out despite starting up a year ago. The model we have in stock is the Lamborghini 350 GT. We can go find one on the lot if you would like.”
Both brothers were a bit glum at the fact that only one model was available. Nevertheless, they allowed Mario to take them to one of the cars in question. The salesman explained some of the car’s properties as the brothers got a good look.
The performance aspects of the car were attractive to Lovino. It had similar properties to the Ferrari 250 California, with the extra bonus of a faster top speed at 254 km/h. It was still a bonus despite how small the increase was.
Unfortunately for Feliciano, the car didn’t look as attractive as the Ferrari. The shape of the car was decent, though the car top shape was not the best looking as it gave the vehicle a bulkier look. Although the worst feature of the car by far was the color. It was an ugly silver color that did not give a bright shine of light when in the sun. He was shaken out of his thoughts when he saw Lovino and Mario start walking back towards the building. He scrambled after them.
A rather short discussion on payment came before the keys were given to Lovino. As for the color of the car, Mario had given two choices: get the car now in its silver, or wait about 6 weeks for a preferred color. Seeing how hooked Lovino was with the car, Feliciano felt no choice but to sacrifice quality appearances for driving around sooner. I could probably paint the car myself anyway.
The younger was surprised when the keys were shoved into his face. “Fratello. What are you doing?”
“Can’t you see that I’m letting you drive first?” He couldn’t make eye contact with his brother. He muttered something about “idiotas” under his breath.
Feliciano gasped as he took the keys and got into the car. He was going to drive first! He felt Lovino sit next to him as he got the key into the ignition. The engine came to life with a rigor that made both passengers excited for what was going to come. It was slow and careful with getting on the road, but then everything was fair game. The Lamborghini was brought to the highway in a matter of seconds.
Since they did not have time to figure out how to get the car top down, Lovino rolled down the window to feel the wind in his hair. This is how I fucking like it!
It was déjà vu as Feliciano waived through traffic, purposefully ignoring the fact that speed limits exist. It would only be so long before the honking from other drivers began. He got his own window down once the road became a straight-away for more than a few 100 meters. Forget the ugliness of the car’s looks, it’s fun to drive! It took 3 different people to hold down their horns at Feliciano for him to finally decide to give his brother a shot at driving the car.
Lovino was just as quick to get back on the highway. Some of the other drivers had the misfortune of dealing with the Vargas antics for a second time. Feliciano was oblivious, but Lovino just had a shit-eating grin on his face the entire time.
About another kilometer down the road, there were two Ferraris driving like civilized beings. That is, until the Lamborghini passed by them in a flash. The two Ferraris caught up to the Lamborghini in an instant.
Lovino took note on how each of them was positioned. They want to race me. They want to challenge the new competitor on the road. Let’s do it. I’ll show those fucking losers the power of the new car.
It was best showcased here just how damn similar the different brands of vehicles were to one another. If one car passed, the other two would catch up. Risky turns were taken by all three of them in similar fashions. There were lots of cutting each other off and honking the horns in taunting. The other patrons on the road were forced to go on the defensive with the three chaotic forces driving on the same road. One of those unfortunate souls got driven off of the road.
The fun would only last for so long. The other two Ferraris slowed down to get on the exit ramp rapidly approaching them. “Bye! Thanks for racing us!” Feliciano shouted towards the racer companions/competitors.
Lovino slowed down closer to the speed limit. “Well. I think we got our thrill for the day. What do you think, fratello?” Feliciano agreed as he wanted to head home to relax.
The calm was short-lived though. Lovino had only looked at the rear-view mirror just in time to see the cop car behind them turn on the sirens. “Fucking fantastic. The cops are out again.” Déjà vu in the sense of dread hit the both of them. There was no choice but to pull over on the shoulder.
This cop was not nearly as friendly compared to the one that had pulled Feliciano over in the past. “Should have known that it would be a bunch of young brats. You know why I pulled you over, don’t you?”
Feliciano was shocked at the man’s attitude. All of the cops he had encountered were nice, understanding people. Meanwhile, this man reminded him of a scarier version of Ludwig.
Lovino had to use all of his strength to not let his temper take over. The cop’s attitude made him want to throw some colorful language at the guy. “I have no idea what you are talking about, officer.” He lied through his teeth.
“All of you go immediately to lying. Unacceptable. You know you were driving recklessly with two other cars. Unpredictable maneuvering and speeding so much it’ll get you killed.” The officer leered at Lovino. “You’re lucky that your offenses are not jail worthy.”
Lovino could only seethe silently in his seat as the officer wrote a ticket. The fine was the maximum that the officer could legally give. Lovino cursed his luck. But he was glad that Feliciano was not the one getting in trouble.
“I hope you learned your lesson. For my son.” His voice grew quiet. “He was just like you with cars, and now he’s no longer here.” The interaction ended on that grave note as the officer headed back to his car.
Lovino tried to not punch something as he heard his brother sob loudly aside him. Fucking bastard making my fratello cry and getting up in my face. Stupid police. His anger slightly died down remembering the officer’s last words. Anger management first, then cry.
They went home in silence. Their fun with driving temporarily ruined again.