Chapter Text
The radio shifted between static as the knob was turned, a low hissing of white noise the only sound.
"Feliciano, stop it!" Lovino took his hand off the wheel to shove his brother back into his seat, "That's really annoying, so stop touching it."
"Well, I'm bored, Lovino," the younger omega huffed and slouched back in his seat, drawing his knees up. He really should have a seatbelt on, the trees were becoming thicker and deer were a big issue in the country roads, but Lovino couldn't find it in him to care, "It's been like five hours, Lovino and my phone's not picking up out here... Why does Nonno have to live so far out?"
"Now you know why we stopped visiting so much after mom remarried," Lovino sighed, glancing at the map that was spread out on his lap, trying to get an idea of where he was. With their phones out their GPS was out too. It would probably be another half hour or so until they were even in the town, let alone near their grandfather.
Feliciano glanced down, "You think Mamma would still be here if she didn't marry him?"
The question made the older omega look up from the map, his brows furrowing. His eyes flicked to the road before glancing over at his brother, "...You know I think a lot of things would be different if she didn't marry him..."
Feliciano looked up, his mouth opening to respond but a flash of movement on the road changed his words, "Lovi! Deer! Look out!"
The elder looked up and swore, his foot hit the brake out of instinct and the car slid on the dirt road. He tried to straighten the wheel but it was too late.
The deer stared at them in shock and was frozen.
There was a thump, a sickening crack.
The deer rolled over the hood of the car.
Feliciano grabbed at the passenger handle, crying out and closing his eyes as the windshield cracked.
The car spun and skidded across the road, the loud pop and hiss of a tire deflating the only thing that was heard after the sound of crunching metal and breaking glass.
The scent of burnt rubber filled the car; Feliciano’s heart hammered against his ribs, drowning out Lovino’s curses.
The vehicle came to a stop, sideways across the road.
They sat quietly for a few moments, processing that they were still alive, breathing heavily. Lovino's eyes stared at his brother but also between the sides of the road as well, thankfully there was still plenty of daylight out so the chances of anyone else hitting them was lower.
"Fuck... Are you alright, Feli?" Lovino's voice was hoarse, and he was surprised at how dry his mouth was.
"I-I'm okay..." Feliciano whimpered, his grip on the handle slowly loosening.
"Are you hurt? Did anything break or cut you?"
"I don't think so... Are you okay? Is the deer okay?"
"I'll live... I don't know about the damn deer," Lovino slowly got his own hands off the wheel, and ran his fingers through his hair.
He felt sick.
The door was pushed open and Lovino quickly got out, ignoring the way the world spun and how his head was starting to hurt. The deer was sprawled across the grassy shoulder of the road, not moving. He didn't approach it. At this point it being dead was the better scenario. If it was just knocked out he hoped it wouldn't charge them when it woke up.
He looked over the car, listening to Feliciano stumble out of the car behind him. The front end of the red fiat was completely destroyed, the front driver's side tire was shredded. There was a huge crack in the windshield, but thankfully that was the extent of the damage to the outside.
Lovino walked around the vehicle, the grass crunched under his feet. He stopped by the front passenger tire. It was popped, and the axle was broken.
“Fuck! That’s just fucking great!” Lovino kicked the tire, ignoring how his foot stung and how the world wouldn’t quite stay still.
Feliciano had moved from the car to check on the deer. He didn't touch it, or go near it but he looked like he was trying to get a good look. He looked back at Lovino, he was silent which was honestly worse than if he was crying or screaming.
Lovino walked over, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezing, "Let's get back in the car, and see if we can call someone."
The younger of the two nodded, letting himself be led back to the car. Once inside Lovino searched for his phone, realizing it must have fallen out of the cup holder from the crash.
He definitely had some sort of whiplash, he glanced up at Feliciano to see him looking for his phone as well, the deer forgotten.
The sound of gravel and tires caught both their attention and they watched as a green truck came around the bend. Feliciano stepped out to wave at the car and flag them down.
"Wait Feli, maybe don't-"
Lovino's protest went ignored, and the truck was already slowing from them blocking the road. And two men stepped out, alpha by their scents. One Lovino thought was a bit younger than him and the other a bit older by appearance.
"Heilige Scheiße," the silver haired alpha was the first to get to them, "You two okay? What did you do to your car?"
The other alpha, blond and taller than the older one, had his phone out and was making a call.
Feliciano was explaining the situation to the alpha who had approached them, gesturing and pointing at the deer and the tire. The silver haired alpha was nodding along and glancing back to the blond one.
“We were on our way to our Nonno’s,” Feliciano explained, gesturing between the dented car and the deer in the road. “To stay with him for a while. I’m Feliciano, and that’s Lovino.”
"Gilbert!" He grinned, though he paused a moment when Feliciano pulled his hand back, his brow furrowing.
Feliciano blinked and looked at his hand, "Oh! Ignore that, my soulmate mark is weird. Lovi's is the same, can't figure out what they are," he laughed nervously.
Lovino fought the urge to pick up the nearest rock and throw it at his brother, he didn't need to bring him into the conversation, but he also didn't want to deal with these alphas any more than they had to.
He was right though, for some reason they had the same mark and it was indistinguishable. Most marks were obvious to figure out what they were, theirs were just five dots around their palms. Lovino tried to trace his once as a teenager after it appeared, it connected into an upside-down star. He never understood why it looked so strange.
Gilbert had gone quiet, looking down at the other omega's hand and then to the other alpha, the blond, who was walking over, "Oh right this is my little brother Ludwig. West, be nice."
The younger of the two rolled his eyes, "They're going to come tow the car but they won't be here for a little while," the blond spoke, "We should also make a call to the police for your insurance."
"Feli doesn't have any because he's dumb," Lovino snapped.
Ludwig frowned, his eyes flicking to the younger Italian, who smiled sheepishly.
"To be fair I'm a lot more of a careful driver than Lovi and haven't been in any accidents so I didn't think I needed any."
Ludwig sighed and clearly dialed 911 on his phone before stepping away a little further, giving details to dispatch as the others continued to talk.
"Ah, damn guess we won't be able to get into town until it's moved," Gilbert shrugged, "Opa's not gonna be happy, he really wanted us to pick up some stuff in town."
"Fucking great, what the fuck are we supposed to do now, Feli?" Lovino was frustrated and he just wanted this whole situation to be over.
Feliciano was frowning, "We can walk I guess? It can't be too far, right?"
"Where does your grandpa live?" Gilbert asked, looking towards the road, and then down the road the way the brothers had come.
"A cabin pretty far out in the woods," Feliciano said, "Lovi, isn't the address saved in your phone?"
"Fuck if I know where it is," Lovino crossed his arms, "Somewhere in the fucking car, stupid deer."
"Well we can't just leave you two out here," Gilbert sighed, "You were headed the way we were coming from right? Not many people live back that wa-- You're not Signore Roma's grandsons are you? Vargas?"
Lovino narrowed his eyes, "What's it to you?"
"Ha, hear that West?" He smiled at his brother, before looking back at them, "He's our neighbor. You two are all he's been talking about for weeks. I thought you two looked like him," he turned and pointed back the way they came, "His place is down this way, we can go back together, the four of us."
Feliciano grinned, "Lovi, do you hear that? They know Nonno!"
"I'm not fucking deaf," he grumbled, "And why the fuck is that a surprise? He's like the only person who lives out here."
Lovino could hear Ludwig give an address to the dispatcher if the officers had any questions and he looked up and said no about any obvious injuries. After asking both Feliciano and Lovino if they thought they needed any medical care he told the dispatcher not to send any ambulance as both said no, even though Lovino felt like he was going to collapse. He confirmed an address and hung up the phone.
"If the officers have any questions they'll send someone out to your grandfather's to talk with you two, but it was a deer, I don't think they'll have any real questions."
"Well, it's nice to meet you both!" Feliciano smiled brightly, going to shake Gilbert's hand again and then Ludwig's.
Gilbert laughed but Lovino caught something flash in Ludwig's face when his hand touched his brother's... His blue eyes widened briefly, almost in a panic. Lovino couldn't quite describe it but he didn't think the blond alpha liked the other omega touching him, especially because his expression changed once Gilbert took his hand off of him.
Ludwig did manage to nod back though, "Likewise."
Gilbert and Ludwig helped them unload their car and move everything into the truck. Lovino caught Gilbert say something to Ludwig that he couldn't hear. Whatever it was it made that same look cross the blond's face again.
Feliciano was talking with Gilbert through the entire process, though anytime he tried to speak to Ludwig the blond would simply nod or give him a curt one word answer. It didn't seem like he was trying to be rude, in fact Feliciano seemed completely unfazed by it.
Lovino looked through the car once everything was out to find his and Feliciano's phones. That was until his light-headedness picked up in intensity. His vision blurred, he grabbed the edge of the car, leaning against it.
"Shit..." He groaned, closing his eyes to try to make it go away.
"You okay?" Gilbert suddenly said from beside him, making him jump a little, "Hey, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Just wanted to check on you."
"Fuck, don't sneak up on people," he snapped, glaring at him, "And I'm fine. Fucking dizzy, that's all."
Gilbert gave him a knowing look, "Uh huh, yeah, dizzy, you're really dizzy.... How many times did the car spin? Five or six?"
"Fuck you," he growled, "Why don't you worry about your own fucking self, idiot?"
"You probably have whiplash," he said, ignoring his words, "What are you looking for?"
"Mine and my brother's phones," Lovino replied, "It should be in the car."
"You want me to look so you don't pass out?" Gilbert asked, smirking.
Lovino narrowed his eyes at him, "Fine."
The alpha ducked into the car to search under the seats, "So are we just going to keep pretending we don't know each other?" He asked.
Lovino leaned against his car, "We don't."
"Come on you two used to come up here all the time, Feli I'd expect not to remember us because of him being so young but you? I'm hurt," he laughed, coming back with two phones, "Here."
"Thanks," Lovino took his, their fingers brushing slightly and a jolt went through him, his heart rate picking up.
Gilbert looked at him, their eyes meeting. Neither of them spoke, neither of them looked away, until Ludwig called his name.
Gilbert pulled his hand away and Lovino glanced down, his eyes catching the shape of some sort of vine on his palm, shimmering just slightly. He stole a glance at his own palm, the five dots shimmered as well.
'You have got to be fucking kidding me...' Lovino thought, clenching his fist to hide the dots, glancing up to see the red eyes fixed on his fist now.
"Let's go," he snapped, storming off.
"Yeah," Gilbert followed him, not taking his eyes off him.
He handed Feliciano his phone after they climbed into the truck. Feliciano was chatting away, having a completely one sided conversation with Ludwig who had been waiting outside the car.
Lovino kept himself from laughing at the clear look of discomfort and irritation on Ludwig's face. Gilbert seemed to notice as well and promptly suggested switching seats with Feliciano so he could sit in the passenger seat instead and he'd sit in the back with Lovino.
Lovino grumbled but didn't argue with the idea. Ludwig didn't say anything but the look he gave Gilbert was definitely a disapproving one.
~
Feliciano tried not to frown as he spoke to the alpha next to him. Ludwig was quiet, and while he understood he couldn't exactly look at him while they were driving... He could at least acknowledge his presence. His hand still tingled a bit from when they shook hands.
Besides, Lovino had fallen asleep in the back after some whisper-flirt-arguing with Gilbert, his cheek against the window, and Gilbert definitely was more interested in Lovino than him now for a reason he didn't really know. It didn't matter though as Ludwig was far more interesting in his eyes. Plus his scent was really nice, it blended into the woods they had just been in but was warm and almost comforting like a campfire.
"So how long have you lived out here?" Feliciano asked, deciding a direct question would make the uncomfortable silence go away.
"Gilbert and I moved in with our opa when I was five and he was twelve, after our parents died," Ludwig didn't take his eyes off the road, "Opa has owned the land we live on for years and built the house when our grandmother was alive."
Feliciano blinked and went quiet, glancing back at Gilbert who was looking at them before back at Ludwig.
"Oh.. I'm sorry," Feliciano said softly, looking down, "I shouldn't have asked."
"It's fine, they've been gone a long time," Ludwig replied, glancing over at him briefly. His blue eyes were like a storm.
"Mine and Lovi's mamma passed away last month," he said softly, looking at the thickening trees as they drove down a narrow path that could hardly be called a road, "Our stepfather decided we no longer needed to live at home so Nonno offered us a place to stay."
"My condolences," Ludwig said, his voice a bit softer than before.
~
When they pulled up to the cottage, the sun was starting to set. Roma was outside to greet them, Feliciano could only assume his grandfather had been waiting by the door since they were late.
He was out before Lovino to hug him.
"What happened? Where's your car?" He asked, pulling back and holding Feliciano at arms length, "And why didn't you call?"
"Lovi, drove it into a deer," Feliciano smiled nervously, "Ludwig and Gilbert here were driving by and brought us, they said they were your neighbors?"
"Sì, they have been for a while, grazie mille boys," Roma walked over to pat Ludwig's shoulder and shake his hand, before doing the same with Gilbert.
Feliciano frowned a little, watching his grandfather and Ludwig. Ludwig, maybe just from respect, actually looked at his grandfather and spoke to him like he was there. The two walked back to the bed of the truck to get Feliciano and Lovino's things out as Gilbert helped Lovino out of the truck. Once out Lovino shoved Gilbert, saying he didn't "need" the help and that he was fine.
Feliciano knew his brother by this point... And while he loved him and didn't judge... He had a feeling his brother and Gilbert were going to be sharing a lot more than insults before Lovino actually stopped talking to him.
~
Once their things were inside and Roma finished thanking Gilbert and Ludwig for making sure they got in safely, Roma took Feliciano and Lovino to their rooms. The cottage was small but surprisingly spacious, warm and with three bedrooms... Or at least two and an office that Roma turned into a bedroom.
Feliciano took the smaller room on the ground floor, it had definitely been an office or something. Lovino took the second room upstairs.
There was only one bathroom which Feliciano and Lovino both knew they'd fighting over who was in there too long. The kitchen was a decent size but that was to be expected, they couldn't work in a small kitchen, their mother couldn't and it was to be expected that one of their grandparents couldn't either. Maybe it was an omega thing in their family.
Feliciano checked his phone and frowned, lifting it up to get some sort of service, a few spots here, none there... That was the last time he signed him and Lovino up for phone service with some salesman in a mall.
And with the lack of wi-fi it was a good thing he was able to drop out of his classes and didn't choose the online course option. Hopefully next semester he'd be able to figure out a way to take classes again.
Roma called him to dinner and Feliciano left his open suit on the bed, he glanced out the small window of his room, the trees moving slightly in the breeze.
Dark shadows crawling over the waxing crescent moon. He walked over and made sure the window was secured shut before closing the curtain, he rubbed his arm as a slight tingle ran up his palm. He recalled it as the same feeling he'd gotten after shaking Ludwig's hand. He glanced down at the small five dots, still against his hand but he didn't think much of it.
He closed the door and behind himself as he went to the kitchen to see if his grandfather wanted help setting the table.