lost ~completed~

chapter 21

Almost as reward for his loyalty, Feliciano started coming around a lot more. He ate dinner and lunch with Romano and he took his breaks with him. They would just talk and laugh about nothing and Romano would try to sound enthusiastic about their plans. Feliciano let Romano sleep in more and stay up later. Romano was always tired from their daily training so he was grateful when he first realized that Feliciano came to wake him up at ten in the morning.

This day was different though. Their usual schedule consisted of Feliciano coming to wake Romano up at ten. He then looked at Romano's wounds and took care of them. Romano, being a country, healed fast. Most of his shallower cuts had healed while some of the deeper ones were just faint lines. Regardless, Feliciano insisted in taking care of them until they were completely healed. He firmly believed that he should treat his allies how he would expect them to treat him.

After tending to his wounds and eating a quick breakfast, Feliciano and Romano would go out to the training area to train once again. With the extensive practice, both brothers had improved their skills significantly and could be considered experts.

Romano had practically perfected his hand to hand combat and was doing well in his sword and gun training. He practiced sword fighting with Feliciano and was an admirable opponent but still had room for improvement. He also had started shooting at long distance and moving targets and was doing well. Feliciano was very pleased with him.

However, this morning he woke Romano up at 7:00. Romano, being tired and not used to getting up at that time, groaned and turned onto his side.

"Mmm...Five more minutes." he groaned forgetting where he was at. He shut his eyes tightly willing sleep to come. He pulled the covers up over his head to block out any light. He was suddenly left to clutch thin air as Feliciano yanked the covers off of him.

"Get up. I let you sleep in as long as I could and now I've only got five minutes to check your wounds before the meeting with our allies." Feliciano said. Romano's eyes snapped open remembering where he was and his reason for being there.

He sat up in bed, hitting foreheads with Feliciano. Romano braced himself for the yelling and possible beating he constantly feared but nothing of the sorts came. Instead, Feliciano started laughing, and not the usual cruel laugh he irrupted with when he heard good news evolving something bad happening to the other countries. It was pure and innocent like the old Feliciano. Overcome with happiness and joy, Romano started laughing as well.

The two brothers laughed until tears shimmered in their eyes. Feliciano chuckled as he calmed down.

"Ok. We've got to really hurry now." he said. Romano sat up in bed and stayed still as Feliciano looked at his wounds. Judging by the smile on Feliciano's features, his wounds were almost all healed.

"Hurry up and get dressed. We'll be in the basement." Feliciano said. Romano dipped his head and started to get dressed. "Also, I ask that you don't forget to keep an open mind. Our allies might not seem worthy but I assure you they are strong."

Romano's lips cracked a smile. "Yes, fratello." he said. Feliciano smiled again. Romano hoped his fratello's heart was softening being around Romano so much. Feliciano quickly departed the room, leaving Romano to get dressed alone with himself and his thoughts.

Now he was curious about their allies. He had given up trying to guess who it was. He had simply resigned to finding out who it was at the meeting. Now that the meeting was so close his curiosity was starting to knawl at him. He quickly stumbled towards the hallway as he yanked the jeans up his legs and into place. He pulled his shirt on at the top of the staircase and hurried down.

In less than a minute, Romano was hurrying down the stairs of the basement. His chest was beating hard in anticipation and his fingers were beginning to itch with impatience. His feet ate up the distance between him and satisfying his curiosity.