A/N: I know I should be working on my other stories, but I needed to get this idea out of my head. It's just a one-shot for now, but I do plan to work on it in the near future. Anyway, please enjoy.

Staring out at the grassy plains before him, Lovino tried to count all of the trees swaying in the cool breeze, the birds that flew by above him, and the little grasshoppers that would appear out of nowhere to his sides. Counting things always eased his mind and made him temporarily forget about the things that made him angry or sad. The quietness that filled all around him on this sunny Spring afternoon also helped calm him.

Despite the beautiful atmosphere around him, his mind would sometimes drift back to those thoughts that bothered him greatly. He really hated people, he hated them all so much and wished they would just disappear. Most of all, he hated himself for being unable to communicate with them. He really thought that he was trying his best to fit in, but it clearly was not working.

"I don't need any of them, I've got myself and that's all I care about," he muttered to himself, plucking out small bits of grass below his bare feet and letting them fall from his warm hands.

He sniffed in the relaxing air and let it fill his lungs, before slowly exhaling and smiling up at the sky. If anything, the gorgeous clear blue sky would never be his enemy. Even on rainy days when he wasn't allowed to go outside, he still loved the sky. He could see the fluffy white clouds far over the horizon that would probably tear away before they reached the area where he sat. However, he didn't really mind that, since a clear sky was his favorite sky.

Lovino curled his knees up to his chest and slowly rocked back and forth. He didn't really know why doing such a thing made him feel calm and safe, but it did and so he did it quite often. Although he was bored, he was determined to stay outside for as long as he could. Maybe then the bastards would realize how important he was, and beg for him to come back. He knew he'd get in big trouble for going outside alone and without permission, so now nothing really mattered.

"I'll do whatever I want to do and no one can stop me!" he yelled up at the sky, nervously laughing to himself once he thought of what his punishment would be. He'd probably get banned from doing everything that he liked for a while, but it was worth it. If he could make them worry for his wellbeing, then any act was necessary.

"It must be fun, talking to yourself and yelling up at the sky?"

He nearly jumped when he heard an unfamiliar voice that interrupted his peaceful thoughts. He quickly whirled his head around to glare up at the perpetrator. Lovino was more than shocked to find an older looking boy with narrow crimson eyes and near-white hair. Those glossy silver strands sprouted out of his head almost like fire, and he had the strangest smirk on his face. He was probably the weirdest person Lovino had ever seen before.

"Who the hell are you, and why are you interrupting my peace?" he asked, groaning irritably as the boy took it upon himself to sit down on the grass by his side. Out of precaution, Lovino quickly scooted a few inches away from the stranger but continued to glare.

"So, what were you talking about? It sounded like you were determined to take over the world just now."

Lovino narrowed his eyes when this weird person began to laugh. Whoever this guy was, he was annoying and needed to leave right this instance!

"I said, who are you? You know what, never mind. Just leave, I was here first!"

"Why should I have to leave? Can't I enjoy listening to a weird little boy talking to himself?" he asked, tilting his head and staring into Lovino's eyes. He was obviously very amused at how short tempered and crude this kid was, despite his cute face and funny hair style that looked as if it needed to get cut.

"I'm not a little boy! And because… this is private property, so that means you are trespassing! That's against the law, in case you didn't know. You look too stupid to know anything about the law, anyway."

The stranger blinked at him before laughing again, which was starting to really piss Lovino off. He didn't want to have to fight, since he didn't know how to and this guy would probably knock him out in one punch. Even a simple push to the chest would probably send him home crying. The least he could do was to make up some lie about owning this little pasture, maybe then the freak would leave.

"You sure do have a mouth on you!" the stranger said, once he'd finally stopped laughing. His expression was suddenly serious as he leaned in closer, startling Lovino. "Alright, show me proof of your ownership of this place and I'll leave. Surely you have the deeds to this property or some shit like that, right?"

Lovino stayed silent since he obviously didn't own such a thing. He really wanted to jab this bastard in the mouth right about now. If only he had the strength and the courage, he would be able to do anything.

"Right, because you don't own this place. No one does, actually. It belongs to the earth and that's all."

"I hate you," Lovino murmured, and crossed his arms on his chest. Well, now his peaceful outing was ruined and he was angry again. Why did anger always come back to haunt him?

"You hardly even know me! Anyway, what are you doing out here all alone? Should a kid like you really be here? I mean, there's nothing dangerous and it's peaceful, but still."

"I'm not a damn kid. I just turned fourteen years old a few months ago, so I can do whatever I want to do."

"Wow, you really are a kid."

Lovino grumbled and snatched another handful of grass from its roots. "Well, how old are you, smartass?"

"I'm ageless," he answered, and gave a big smile.

"What kind of bullshit answer is that? You're really annoying, you know that?"

"Fine, fine." He hummed silently and raised a finger to his chin, thinking for a moment before answering. "I guess I'm seventeen, then."

"You guess?" Lovino said, quirking an eyebrow at the seemingly older boy.

"Yup. So you should show your elder some respect, Lovino."

Lovino rolled his eyes, puffing out his cheeks. "As if you're my elder— Wait, what? How do you know my name?"

"Lucky guess," he said, plucking a nearby flower from the ground and toying with it.

Lovino didn't know if he should have felt afraid, bewildered, or all around freaked out. Here he was, talking to an odd looking guy whose personality was equally as weird, and they somehow knew Lovino's name. He found it very strange, since his name is quite unique and not something that someone would guess on their first try. This person intrigued him, however, so he decided to further conduct a conversation with them, although he remembered his grandfather had always told him when he was little to never talk to strangers.

"S-so… what is your name? And where do you live? My house is the only home around here, that I know of."

"Hm, you can call me Gilbert. Or maybe even 'Gilbert the Awesome'! That sounds about right. And, I don't particularly know where I live. Because, I live everywhere but nowhere. So I guess you can say that this is my home."

"That doesn't make any damn sense. You really are weird, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Oh, I believe many people might have said a thing or two on the matter. So, why are you out here? You never told me."

Lovino had completely forgotten that he was previously angry about something. Whatever that something was, it had led him into the grassy plains where he now sat on his favorite hilltop. He was usually never allowed to go there on his own, so this was actually sort of exciting.

"I don't really remember… I was angry, and then I ended up here. It was peaceful, until you had to come along and ruin it, Mr. 'Gilbastard' with the weird hair and eyes."

"Hey now, I didn't say that you could make up your own name for me, 'Bratvino'." Gilbert chuckled and placed a hand onto Lovino's head, gently ruffling his hair and messing it up completely.

"Stop that! Don't touch me! And I'm not a brat!" he whined, swatting the hand away.

"Sure, sure. Anyway, why were you angry? Didn't get your favorite treat this morning?"

"That's not the reason, stupid. I was angry because… well, I don't have to tell you anything. I don't even know you or where you came from, so I don't see why I should."

"That's alright, I bet I can guess why. Hm… you probably think your family is ignoring you, huh?"

Damn, he was right on spot. But, Lovino couldn't let him know that. He slowly shook his head before letting out a short sigh.

"Maybe. It's just… hard to talk to them, for some reason. I try but I just can't do it. And, they never let me do anything besides play with toys, shit like that. I'm fourteen, I don't need toys anymore! I want to go outside and do things that are actually fun, you know?"

"I know what you mean. They're always getting in the way of things. Well, you're out here now, so you can do whatever you want to do. Tell me, what is one thing that you've always wanted to experience?"

"One thing that I've always wanted to experience?" Lovino closed his eyes to gain more concentration. He'd never really thought of that before, so it was hard to answer so suddenly. They weren't particularly any place that had much to do, and there was basically only scenery. So, he chose the first thing on the top of his mind.

"Climb a big tree," he said, nodding.

"Climb a… tree? Seriously?" Gilbert sighed and stood up. This kid really had some 'big' dreams. "Alright, we'll climb the biggest tree out here! Come on."

Lovino let out a small yelp when Gilbert suddenly took his hand and pulled him up from the ground. He practically began pulling him along to the set of trees not too far from where they stood on the hill. Lovino was a little timid now, not sure if he should have been following someone he had just met.

"I don't know about this… my grandpa said not to talk to strangers, so I'm sure playing with one is even worse."

Gilbert looked back at him as they walked and chuckled. "What? But, I'm not a stranger! I'm Gilbert, your friend, remember?"

"We're… friends?" he asked, his eyes widening as he stared down to the ground. He didn't have any friends, and suddenly gaining one was a little overwhelming. Especially since he wasn't sure that he even liked Gilbert yet. He was annoying and strange, he even looked like someone out of a TV show or something. But, for some reason, he felt safe in that hand that pulled him along.

"This looks like a pretty big tree, why don't you give it a shot?"

Lovino finally looked up once again when they came to an abrupt stop. They stood before the biggest tree he had ever seen, causing his knees to nervously shake as he slowly took an unsure step back. There was no way he'd climb that thing, even if he was forced to.

"What's wrong? It's a big tree, just like you said!" Gilbert said, tightly grasping Lovino's hand and pulling him towards the base of the tree.

"I'm not climbing that! It's too big, I'll fall!" he screamed, trying to pull away.

"Don't be silly, you won't fall. I'm going to help you, so it's fine. You've always wanted to do this, right?"

"That's… only because my grandpa said not to! He said I could get hurt, and well he was right so I don't think I will do it after all."

Gilbert sighed and reached up to one of the first large branches. Without much effort, he hoisted himself up onto it and positioned his legs so that he was sitting on it. Looking down, he smiled and waved to Lovino who only stared in amazement.

"See? It's perfectly fine. So come on up!"

With all of the confidence in his body, Lovino took a big gulp before doing the same thing that Gilber had done previously. He slowly lifted himself onto the tree branch and clung to it for dear life. They weren't even three feet above the ground, so there really wasn't anything to fear.

"Great, now go higher!"

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Lovino snarled, but his limbs were already working to climb to the next branch. For some reason, he felt as if he could do anything now, and so he was determined to try.

"You're doing good, I knew you could do it all along," Gilbert called up to him, still on the very first branch.

Pretty soon, Lovino found himself near the very top of the large tree, overlooking the valley. It was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen, and he completely forgot about the fear that had stopped him in his tracks before. With the cool breeze blowing through his silky hair, he felt as if he was flying through the clear blue sky. That is, until his excessive confidence urged him to go higher, causing him to lose his grip as he tumbled down below from his previous position, screaming the entire time.

"That was a close one, you almost reached the top! Be more careful next time, won't you?"

Lovino finally opened his eyes to find himself in the arms of Gilbert, and on the ground again.

"H-how did you… I thought you were just on the first branch only a moment ago?"

"Huh? No I wasn't, I jumped down while you were climbing. Didn't you see me?" he answered, smiling as he helped Lovino stand up straight again.

"No… well, whatever. I think I should go home now. You should probably do the same, wherever you came from."

"What? Why? We're having so much fun right now!"

"This was fun, even though I admit that I was scared at first… but, my family is probably worried about me. I did leave without permission, so I think it's about time I go back since I'm not angry anymore."

"If you go back, they'll only be angry at you since you left in the first place. Forget about them, we should have some more fun. How about going to the lake? It's not far from here, and my bike is right on the other side of the hill!"

Lovino once again found himself being pulled towards another direction against his own freewill. He could tell by the excited tone in Gilbert's voice that he really was having fun. It was true that his grandfather would berate him for running off like he did, well, like he thought he did. He still couldn't really remember why he had left his home, all he knew was that he had been very angry.

"I don't know how to swim, though," he said. He figured that if he went along with it, he would also have just a bit more fun. It would probably be the only fun he'd have in a while, since he was most likely going to be grounded later.

"Well then, we don't have to swim. How about we go fishing? I'm a pretty awesome fisherman," Gilbert suggested, as they reached the small dirt trail where his bike stood alone.

"We don't even have any fishing poles. How are we supposed to fish without poles and bait?"

"I've got string. We can tie it around a couple sticks that we'll pick up at the lake. There are also lots of worms around there, so it's no big deal. I've also got hooks. Now, hop on!"

Who the hell carries strings and hooks around with them? Lovino couldn't help wondering why this guy was so persistent and weird. Even so, he did as he was told to and climbed on the back of the bike. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around Gilbert's thin waist to hold on so that he wouldn't fall as they sped down the steep trail.

Lovino knew what he was doing was considered 'bad' by the adults, but for some reason he just felt so safe around Gilbert. It was almost as if they had already known each other, and so it didn't take much persuasion to make him do whatever the older boy told him to do. It was also nice to have made a good friend so quickly, even if he was especially odd.

When they finally arrived at the lake, it didn't take any time at all to find two perfectly sturdy sticks to tie the strings to. Lovino watched, a bit disgusted as Gilbert plucked a few fat worms from the damp ground to use as bait. He had never been fishing before, so he didn't really know how it all worked. All he knew was that it was a long, boring process to go through before they actually caught anything.

"Are there even any fishes in this damn lake? This is taking forever," he whined, fighting the urge to chuck the stick into the water and return home.

"Do you want there to be any fishes in here?" Gilbert asked, chuckling at Lovino's impatience.

"Obviously? I mean, there has to be if we plan to catch anything. Or else this was a waste of time. We need lots of fishes!"

"Then, imagine that this lake is swarming with fishes everywhere. Hungry fishes that would gladly take our bait."

The thought of catching a dozen fishes was actually pretty exciting, so Lovino imagined a lake full of hungry sea creatures, both big and small. Soon enough, they both spotted hungry fishes that were practically jumping out of the water. Unfortunately, none of them were latching onto Lovino's hook while Gilbert was already catching so many.

"That's not fair! You've already caught so many… I want to catch the biggest fish there is!"

All of a sudden, Lovino felt his stick being pulled with excessive force. A smile grew on his face as he tried to pull his first fish out of the water. But, the creature proved to be much stronger than he was. He was determined not to let the stick fly from his hands, so he held on with all of his strength. Either he was going to pull the fish out, or the fish would pull him in.

"Come on, stupid bastard… just give up resisting!" Lovino yelled, as if the fish could hear him. Not even a second later, he could feel his balance slipping and the ground felt as if it was giving away under his feet. When he tried to catch himself, it only made the predicament worse and he soon found himself lunging forward into the lake.

It was a good thing that the side of the lake they were on was shallow, so it was near impossible for him to drown. But, Lovino didn't know that, all he knew was that he was in the water and panicking to get out. He flapped his arms around, afraid that a sea monster would pop up out of nowhere and devour him whole.

"Stop splashing! I've got you, see? You're alright now," Gilbert said, as he reached in and grabbed Lovino's arm to pull him out.

"I almost drowned! What took you so long? Now my clothes are all wet, dammit. Grandpa Caesar will be pissed and it's all your fault!"

Gilbert laughed loudly at Lovino's pouting face, finding it way too amusing as he watched the younger boy try to squeeze the water from his drenched shirt.

"Don't get angry at me! You're the one who wanted to catch a big fish, I didn't tell you to imagine one that huge. At least the water was shallow, right? We don't want the same thing to happen like last time."

Once Lovino had finally given up squeezing the excess water from his clothing, he quirked an eyebrow as he realized what had just been said.

"Last time? What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"The time you almost drowned in the lake, of course," Gilbert said, gazing upon all of the fishes he had caught. Now he wished that they had brought along a bucket so that he could place the fishes in it.

"But… how did you know that? We've only just met."

Gilbert turned back around, scratching his head as he sat down again. "Lucky guess?"

"No one just guesses things like that. And… that's not the only thing you know about me. You also knew my name before I even told you, now I'm wondering what else you know. Who are you, really?"

"I've already told you. I'm Gilbert, the most awesome person you'll ever know."

Lovino rolled his eyes, already fed up with the blank answer. "That's not what I meant— You know what, never mind. You're just so damn weird, just like everything you say."

Even though something in Lovino's mind was telling him that he should be afraid, he really wasn't scared at all. Despite finding out that a stranger somehow knew things about him that even he couldn't remember, he still felt completely safe. Gilbert didn't give him the feeling that his life was in danger, or that he was being threatened. In fact, he felt that he really liked being around Gilbert, although he had no idea why.

"Don't you know that calling people weird to their faces is not exactly a nice thing? Well, tell me what you think about me. Can you find the words? Do you remember yet?"

"I don't know… are you saying that we've met before? But, I'm sure I could never forget someone as annoying and strange as you. Still, you look so familiar to me but I can't quite put a finger on it."

Lovino gazed into those gleaming crimson eyes and tried to recognize that familiar smile. Even though his mind was absolutely sure that he had never laid eyes on this person before, his heart said differently. It was starting to eat him alive, so he shook the thoughts from his head and frowned again.

"Well Lovi, it's not that hard to figure out. I know things about you because we're friends, right? So it's only natural."

"We only just became friends a little over an hour ago, dumb ass!" Lovino yelled, picking up one of the fishes and throwing it at Gilbert's face. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough and Gilbert caught it.

"So now you're throwing dead fishes at me? Some friend you are!" Gilbert stood from the ground once again and teasingly winked at Lovino. After brushing the dirt from his jeans, he began to walk away from the lake.

"Wait, where the hell do you think you're going? What about the fish? Hey!"

Gilbert chuckled to himself at the fact that Lovino was already closely following him behind like a stray puppy. He didn't mind it, though he figured it was best to give Lovino some more time to think to himself.

"I've gotta go, but we can play later! I'm sure I'll find you again pretty soon, actually," he said, gently ruffling Lovino's damp hair.

"Where could you possibly have to go? And how do you know we'll see each other again? You don't even know where I live!"

"Don't worry about that right now, just know that I'm always lurking around so it'll be easy to find you. Think of me as… some sort of awesome guide. Oh and look, your clothes are already dry!"

Lovino looked down at his clothing and patted them against his skin to find that they were somehow completely dry again. When he looked back up, Gilbert had mysteriously disappeared.

The room was silent, save for the sound of the intravenous machine by the side of the hospital bed. To Feliciano, it was almost as if time had stopped for their family, and now they could only endure the suffering of waiting. It had been over a week since the accident, but Lovino still had not waken up.

"Feli, it's time to go home now. Say goodbye to your brother, alright?"

For the first time in at least an hour, Feliciano's eyes left the cold emotionless face that belonged to his brother and turned around to stare in his grandfather's.

"But, what if he wakes up? We have to be here to greet him… he will be lonely if we leave. We have to stay."

"Visitors are… only allowed to spend the night here the first couple of days. We cannot interfere with the work of the doctors and nurses, so we must go home. I'm sure when he wakes up, they'll call us immediately." Caesar did his best to give a small reassuring smile to the younger boy.

After a short moment, Feliciano nodded and returned his attention back to the unconscious body lying in the bed. He stood from the cushiony chair that he was seated in, and leaned forward to place a chaste kiss to Lovino's forehead. Feeling as if he was going to burst into tears again soon, Feliciano quickly exited the room and made his way down the bright hallway that he had begun to memorize.

Caesar let out a long sigh as the smile immediately shattered on his face, now that Feliciano wasn't present. He slowly walked over to the side of the hospital bed and ran his shaky hand through Lovino's lively head of hair. Those strands of hair and his weak pulse were probably the only things on Lovino's body that were still visibly alive. The rest of his body seemed lifeless, as if it had disappeared along with his fragile mind.

"Despite what the doctors say, there is a great possibility that he will awaken soon. We don't know everything, and sometimes we are wrong… and, I believe that faith and hope are stronger than any medicine or treatment on this planet," said the nurse who stood in the doorway. She gave Caesar the greatest smile that she could, in hopes that it would make him feel at least a little better.

As beautiful as the nurse was, he couldn't care any less. The doctors had told him that there was the possibility that Lovino would never awaken from the deep coma that he had slipped into. They stated that his mind was too far gone, and that it would take a miracle for him to return to normal. At any given moment, his brain could simply give up and stop working, letting the rest of his struggling body shatter immediately afterwards.

If that happened, Caesar had no idea what he would do. He would lose a grandson, and Feliciano would lose a brother. They would both lose a member of their family whom they loved dearly. He already felt guilty about the whole situation since he couldn't do anything to stop it. All that he could do was wait. He would wait and pray everyday that Lovino would wake up, and together with Feliciano, they would do their best to nurse Lovino back to health.

"Thank you for those kind words and everything that you have been doing for my grandson. I didn't mean to get so upset at the doctors earlier, it's just… something that I can't let happen to Lovino. We'll be back tomorrow, as usual. Goodnight."

Before they could do anything, however, Lovino would have to wake up.

A/N: For anyone confused, the entire first part of the story was all inside of Lovino's head. He's still unconscious. Yay, plot twist! I promise that it'll get more interesting, since I still have to reveal the main details and how Gilbert relates to the story.