The Cover Up | 2p!Talia

Meeting

Lovino nervously peeked through the cracks of the door he believed to be the one where Gilbert was. All over the door were danger and no entrance signs, pasted to the walls.

Was it really that forbidden?

He faintly saw a white haired figure, head facing the floor, tied up against the wall. He was barely moving at all, and made no noise whatsoever. It was like he was a ghost.

The door was twisted open, and Lovino stepped inside, completely unnoticed.

"Gilbert, are you ok?" 

He obviously wasn't. It had been 4 days since he'd been knocked out. He was noticeably thinner, his wrists were sore and bloody, he had plenty of scars, probably from some kind of torture given to him to shut him up.

It worked. His spirits were crushed like leaves.

Gilbert slowly lifted his head up. "Lovino? I didn't expect you to be here!"

Lovino leant down next to him and ruffled around in his pockets and bags. "I want you to eat, Gilbert. I refuse to let you go hungry. Those fucking bastards have done enough."

The captured nation sighed and shook his head. "I'm not hungry, Lovino."

"I- I will fucking force you to eat, even if it's the last thing I do! You can't just give up like this!" Lovino raised his voice at Gilbert, who couldn't even bear to have eye contact with him.

Gilbert, still awkward about eye contact, turned to look at him, eyes blurry. "Alright, just close the door. I don't want Matthew to know."

Lovino obliged, shutting the door at once. There was no inside lock, so it wasn't good defending at all, and the door could easily be broken down. Still, he shouldn't worry about that? 

Right?

---

The pair spent several minutes catching up on their experiences, while eating some pasta courtesy of Lovino. Gilbert found it a little hard to eat, but none the less, the felt better afterwards.

And for the first time in a while, Gilbert smiled. He actually smiled.

"So my 2p is fucking your 2p?" the captured nation laughed, shoving another forkful of pasta into his mouth.

"Matthew really has lost his fucking mind." Lovino looked up at him and his smiling face. He still looked like an absolute wreck, even if he was a bit happier. He doesn't fucking deserve this shit. Why is this happening to him?

"Yeah, he is very heavy with torture. He's really good with that whip." Gilbert stopped his smiling, and stared heavily at his deep wounds, which ranged from his legs to across the face. He still winced in pain every time he moved a lot and there was the fear of wound infection still to face. His thin black shirt barely covered much of the arms, and was stained with his blood and tears. Lovino could see the sadness and fear in his eyes, it terrified him.

"It's totally awesome that you're here, though." Gilbert sighed, reaching his sore, bloody hand out to Lovino. "It just sucks that you're not allowed here."

Lovino felt like just letting him know how much he missed him, but it was hard when he was whipped all over and people were out to get him, who even knew when they would come out to pounce?  

Gilbert sighed and gazed down at the ceiling as if it were the sky, swishing his feet side to side. "I'm still trying to look up high, I'm not gonna let Matthew drain my hope too fast! That's not what the awesome me would do!"

Lovino's eyes widened and he nearly choked on his pasta. "But, weren't you practically giving up when I walked in? Gilbert?" 

Gilbert looked up at him with a cheerful smile. "With you by my awesome side, I can numb my agonising pain, even a little!"

The other nation continued to be in shock. He couldn't wrap his mind around this. Was he that useful to him? Was this actually true? Did Gilbert realise how big of a compliment that was?

"Don't say that to me! I'm not that great." Lovino huffed, finishing off his pasta and putting the container back into his bag. 

Gilbert completely ignored his negativity. "You are, Lovi! You came over to me when I was feeling lonely and hungry! Gilen's not really one for talking, so it was a bit awkward trying to make conversation with him..."

Lovino was blushing madly. Gilbert was just acting like he did the most marvellous thing ever, it made him feel so weird inside, just to know that he was appreciated.

"S-shut up."

---

The pair talked about almost everything... the weather, what was going on with the meeting, cute videos Lovino had seen, they didn't really care. It was all to make Gilbert feel better. But they didn't realise that time was slowly creeping up on them, and would probably be their worst enemy. It was much later than expected, and Lovino couldn't stay unnoticed forever, right?

Footsteps resounded through the nearby hallways, so did the loud muttering of Matthew and Alfred. It was truly strange to hear this loudness from Matthew, it terrified them all to their cores. 

The two both froze in shock.

Gilbert felt like yelling Lovino orders, but he couldn't. He had to be quiet. 

He couldn't fuck up now. He could end up just like Gilbert and Gilen. 

"Lovino. Run. Get out of the building."

He nodded in agreement, trying not to show his fear back, even though it was too obvious. He was shuddering.

Lovino twisted the door open, and peered at both sides of the hallway. Right, left, right, left... it seemed safe. He took his chances.

He ran. And didn't look back. He couldn't. He didn't stop to consider if he was too loud or going the wrong way. He just did it.

"Going somewhere?"

The dreaded voice filled his ears and made him stop immediately. 

Not him. Anyone but fucking him.

((I have to figure out where I'm going with this so bye))