When I disappear 10.2
Title:When I disappear Chapter 10.2
Author: traumschwinge
Wordcount: 3000+
Characters: Lovino, Feliciano
Fandom: Axis Powers: Hetalia
Rating: T
Summary: House hunting!
As he escaped his car in front of the house he intended to buy, Lovino wondered if he would make it through the viewing without murdering somebody. Feliciano was so excited about this, that he - as much as Lovino loved that dumb ass of a brother - got on Lovino's nerves a lot. But Lovino didn't say anything. He was a bit excited about this as well. And besides, he didn't want to yell at his brother.
The house his minion's had picked looked even nice in reality. Situated in a well-respected neighborhood, it had everything a happy four person family with dog needed. There was a strip of lawn out in front of it, a garage big enough for two cars and even a porch. From what Lovino gathered from his brother's constant babbling, it was what dumb little Feliciano had always dreamed about. Even Lovino had to admit it was nice. A bit too much like it had been taken out of some sort of catalog, but nice.
The estate agent was waiting in front of the house, her smile turning nervous when her glance fell on Lovino's frown. He just hoped that woman who looked like she had fallen headfirst into a pot of make-up didn't get the wrong idea about him. He wanted to get over with it as fast as possible and get the god damn contract signed.
Lovino answered the woman's greeting with a grumble, deciding to leave the civility to Feliciano, who was better at this anyway. So he walked a step behind his brightly smiling brother, as they were led inside, the agent already prattling away with Feliciano. Lovino didn't pay them any attention. It was better for his mental health.
The woman led them around the house, showing every room and praising it's assets. Like he needed to hear about them. It wasn't like he planed on staying in that house forever. It didn't even come close to his villa in every aspect. But he could see that this was rather a home then representative housing and Feliciano seemed to be so very fond of that. Maybe they would live here for a while, if Feliciano begged him enough. This could be something else than just work.
Speaking of work, he could see Beilschmidt's house on the other side of the street from the living room's windows. That was something he could get used to. There was a car he didn't know parked in front of it. So he had a guest, interesting. Maybe that information could help later.
The next room they were led in was the kitchen. Feliciano let out a squeal of delight at the sight of it. Even Lovino couldn't help an impressed whistle. From what it looked at first glance, it had everything, space, a big, modern stove and oven, stainless-steel freezer and a kitchen island in the middle. Immediately, Feliciano was inspecting every corner of the room, his eyes bright with delight. Lovino smiled to himself. If he had needed an argument to get his brother to move here, this kitchen would be it.
It took the agent a bit to convince Feliciano to continue the viewing and Lovino could tell that she hadn't expected this when she had made up her schedule. The woman rushed them through another room - the dinning room, but of course it could be used in any way they wanted as she assured them - and a small bathroom with toilet and a small shower - note that there was the hookup for the washing machine in that room. Lovino nodded to all that blabbering. Useful information, but he would have learned that on his own eventually.
They then went on upstairs, where they looked at three empty bedrooms and two other bathrooms, all of them reasonably big and one of the bathrooms even equipped with a large tub and an additional, very big shower. Lovino could get used to that place. He even had an idea about which bedroom he would like - after all, the master bedroom had it's windows to the street.
By the time they were finished with the inside of the house - save for the basement - the agent seemed to be nervous because of the mixed signals, she believed to get from the brothers. Lovino looked even more disgruntled than he had before, while Feliciano seemed to have fallen in love with the place. He even told Lovino so in Italian, when they were in one of the bedrooms and the agent told them some boring facts about the room. Lovino was by then set on buying the house no matter what.
They still viewed the garden - big lawn with a stone terrace by the house and some trees - and the basement - big, good as a storage room but Lovino could imagine using it for another purpose as well. The agent was so nervous she almost dropped the contract with the details. Lovino was pleased that she had thought to bring a contract as he had requested. He could tell she didn't expect him to sign and buy the house.
“Should we buy it?” Lovino casually asked his brother. He deliberately spoke Italian. Chances were that the agent would not understand them that way. Lovino didn't even need to look up from the contract to know his brother was beaming.
“I would love to,” Feliciano chimed. “Can we, fratello, can we?” Oh god, the boy was even jumping up and down a little with excitement. “Pleeaaase,” Feliciano added in a whiny tone.
Lovino's lips twitched into a smile. “I think we could,” he said thoughtfully. “If you really want, I mean. It's nice.” It took him some effort to admit that. He shouldn't be fine with anything but the best. Nice clearly wasn't the best. But if it could bring his little, dear brother some happiness, it could still be.
Before Lovino could help it, he was hugged by his enthusiastic little brother. “Thank you so much,” Feliciano cheered loudly into his ear. Even though Lovino quickly tried to push his brother away - or at least far enough away from his ears so he wouldn't go deaf - he couldn't say he disliked being hugged like this. Deep down, he loved his brother for it. He just didn't like admitting it. It would put the younger at risk was what he would tell anyone who was allowed to know this. Which was just about no one.
“Is a check okay with you?” Lovino asked the estate agent, now speaking English again. The woman flinched, suddenly snapping her attention back at him. This caused Lovino to smile a horrible smile. He liked it very much to strike terror in anyone's heart.
“Well, of course it is,” the agent said once she had recovered from the initial shock. Lovino was pleased to note that she tried not to act like she was afraid of him. Good. He liked courageous people. They tended to make stupid mistakes. Like, in this case, not thinking about where the money would come from or why the house even was on sale as long as it was an easy sale.
“Very well,” Lovino commented as he took out his checkbook and flipped it open. He asked her to clarify the price once more - adding ten thousand to the original sum but she went with it anyway, that cunning woman - Lovino didn't feel too bad about this. After all, it wasn't like he couldn't afford it. And things had gone so smooth with the previous owners they could have a nice little treat. He would see to it that the agent wouldn't forget to tell them about the price they had agreed on now.
Lovino wrote the numbers down on the check and signed it, ignoring that his brother's eyes had gone wide with the shock of hearing such a large sum Lovino was willing to pay without even consulting with his bank. Lovino was well aware that this wasn't the usual, but then again, the agent had known that he was in contact with the previous owners. So he could pretend he had planned to buy all along and had consulted his bank for a credit before viewing the house.
“I hope the Morrets will be pleased with this,” Lovino said. He knew they would be at least relieved when he paid them a visit the following week. But it wouldn't only be about the price for their house. And he wasn't a bad guy. He even paid them much more than the house was worth. He had looked into it before he had made any offer. Too bad they hadn't been willing to sell just for money. But he didn't mind a bit more convincing if he wanted something badly.
He handed the check and the signed contract over to the agent. She took it with slightly shaking hands, unable to hide that part of her uneasiness. But she smiled. “I'm sure they will be very pleased,” she said, studying the check and the signatures on the contract, before storing it away in her briefcase. “I will see to it that we can make the hand-over of keys as soon as possible. I'm sure that's also in your best interest. I will call you when everything is settled.”
Lovino shot her one of his most terrifying smiles. “I'm sure you will,” he said. By now, they were walking out the front door and to their cars, parked next to each other in front of the garage. They shook hands to say good-bye, Lovino delivering one short squeeze while Feliciano shook her hand almost too enthusiastically. The agent assured to call as soon as possible, handing Lovino a copy of the contract for his records, before she got into her car and drove off.
Lovino was still watching the car leave, when Feliciano hugged him, jumping up and down with his arms wrapped around his brother's neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he cheered. Lovino couldn't help himself but to smile. He even patted his brother's head.
“It's not ours yet,” he said. It wasn't like he assumed the check to blow but one could never knew. The chances for that, though, were microscopic. “But it will be soon. I hope you're ready to move.”
Feliciano smiled so bright the sun looked pale. “I am,” he chirped. “This is such a great neighborhood and the house is so nice and have you seen the kitchen? I'm so glad we move out of that giant villa to a real home. You know, I'm scared of that villa sometimes. It's too big and much too empty just for the two of us.”
Lovino nodded. His brother had told him so many times. He understood it, even though he didn't feel the same. But then again, that villa was his workplace. It would be nice to be able to divide work from home for a change.
“I'm so happy,” Feliciano said for what felt like the millionth time. “Let me cook for you today. To say thanks. I will cook your favorite food, just like Nono.” Lovino nodded absent mindedly. He was too busy watching the car leave from Beilschmidt's, a long haired woman driving it. Elizabeta Hedervary, he remembered. One of Antonio's and that whore's mutual friends. So she was either friends with Beilschmidt as well or just visiting a broken man. Another bit of something he would be able to use one day, he was sure.
He also nodded when Feliciano said he would need to shop for groceries then. That was easily done. Lovino drove them to the nearest supermarket. This way, they could also get to know some of their soon-to-be new surroundings which wasn't bad in Lovino's opinion. After all, he knew the neighborhood mostly from maps or the street view option of various search engines.
Lovino waited in the car while Feliciano waited inside. He had argued that Feliciano would be much faster on his own. The truth was, Lovino needed a break from his brother and a little time to get the next steps settled. He made a few calls and when Feliciano hadn't come back by then, he made some more, making sure that his visit at the Morrets would be a happy one for the family. He even thought about bringing them more than one present. Maybe some chocolate for the children and fruit for the parents. That seemed about right. After all, everything had gone smooth and according to plan.
Feliciano was running so late, Lovino started to wonder if he should go looking for his brother. Just when he had decided to do so, the supermarket's doors slid open. Feliciano walked out, a bag of groceries in his arms. Someone was with him and he waved at that person Lovino couldn't see when walked to his brother's car.
After Feliciano had stored his purchases safely away in the trunk and had seated himself back in the passenger seat again, Lovino asked, curiously, “Who was that?” He was in constant worry about his brother. He was leading a dangerous life with many ruthless enemies after all.
“One of our new neighbors,” Feliciano said. Was there something wrong with Lovino's ears or did he indeed sound dreamy? “He said he lives near to our new house and he's really nice. He helped me find the cinnamon!” Feliciano made this single act sound like the biggest show of chivalry possible. Lovino simply rolled his eyes. Sometimes, his brother was very easily impressed.
Notes:
Donauwelle Doesn't look like what I imagine but comes close enough and it's more about the explanation anyway.
Special thanks to BlackPanther1987 who came up with the name of the previous owners.