AN: Aaaannd this story is back up! Starting from the clean slate, with Itacest added into the mix! Soo, here's the first intro chappie. Hope y'all like it!

...

From the moment Feliciano Vargas came into his family, Lovino automatically realized that…

He was a dumb, clueless, bastard. (totally not adorable at all.)

So, being the responsible older brother that he was (he was 8 years old, of course he was responsible, dammit!), Lovino cared for him - fed him, washed him, and all that delicious "caring for baby procedures when the parents aren't there" things.

Alright, alright, maybe Lovino loved him just a tiny little smidgen- just because that was the protocol for "caring older brother", of course! Definitely not because his new fratellino was cute, or because of the way that Feliciano cooed in delight whenever Lovino tended to him, or whenever the baby would attempt to reach up high in his arms and grab at the elder, wanting the stream of affection from Lovino to never end… no, no definitely not!

Again, it was just a tiny, tiny, tiny little smidgen…!

That may or may not have expanded into a humongous brother complex, in about, oh, say… 2 seconds.

And though Lovino tried to hide it, (key word: tried) it was quite obvious to anybody who met him.

Even their parents could notice that the way that Lovino looked at him was just screaming "I love you, Feliciano, even though I curse and bully you somewhat while taking care of you".

So, the parents let Lovino take care of baby Feli more and more to encourage that beautiful brotherly love.

By the time Feliciano was 18 months old, he had said his first real word, which turned out to be an enthusiastic "Lovi!"

Lovino replied with a seemingly spiteful "Bastard! That's not my name! If you're going to say MY name, then say it correctly, goddammit!" But, on the inside, he was touched from Feli's first words.

Feliciano apparently knew that, because he just giggled joyfully and squealed his name, over, and over, and over again.

"Lovi, Lovi, Lovi, Lovi, Lovi, Lovi, Lovi, Lovi, Lovi!"

Their parents thought the scene was so adorable they even took a snapshot of the now embarrassed and tomato-faced Lovino, and the happy Feliciano on the floor right next to him.

It was printed out and added to their photo album, which was already filled with other picture-perfect moments between them.

And Feliciano kept growing, and growing, and growing some more…

Staying happy and playful and enthusiastic…

...until Death decided to pay a visit to the Vargas' household.

That was when Feliciano's grin started to falter.

…

It had happened in a second.

A mass murder happened all over their little neighborhood. Gunfire rang through the streets, shots echoing for all to hear. Bullet shells, along with other miscellaneous debris, littered the roads and walkways. Bloodied bodies were found inside homes, all with bullets deeply embedded in their flesh. The police investigated the crime scene, but only the 40" revolver pistol lying on the sidewalk gave a hint as to who attempted to murder everybody. They soon tracked it down to an insane escaped prisoner who had a history of mass murders in different towns.

However, Giovanni Vargas and Bianca Vargas were two peculiar victims. Other casualties had multiple wounds. They had only one wound; a bullet straight to the heart. It was marked with unbelievable precision from the madman. The bullet was revealed to have been coated in an unknown substance that resembled poison, but was much more lethal and powerful.

Where the criminal received all of the materials is unknown and is still being investigated.

Giovanni and Bianca Vargas' children, Lovino and Feliciano Vargas, have been placed in the legal custody of their grandfather, Romulus "Rome" Vargas.

…

And so, Lovino and Feliciano climbed into their grandpa's car. Luckily, their grandpa lived close to the old Vargas home (only about 10 minutes away), so Lovino was still able to attend the same school. It was a Pre-K through 12 program, so little Feliciano would be enrolling in it next year, when he was 3.

But it just didn't feel right, now calling their nonno's house their own home.

"Ve, Fratellone? Why are we going to nonno's place?"

Startled, Lovino jumped up, and then recognized Feli's voice.

"Dammit, don't scare me like that, bastard! We're going to nonno's because… um... we have to stay there for a while until mamma and papa get back."

"Ve, when will they get back?"

"Sometime later. Now shut up and go take a nap or something, Feli."

Feliciano pouted.

But inside, he knew that his beloved parents were not coming back.

It didn't hurt to ask back for them, though.

"But I'm not tired, ve!" he whined.

"Now you are," he snapped, "and now you will shut up and leave me in peace."

And although Lovino put up a tough demeanor, it was quickly starting to crumble from the death of their parents. Inside, he was a disoriented mess that was just seconds away from breaking down.

He turned away from Feli, towards the car window, and tried to blink away the tiny tears that were starting to form in his eyes.

"I can't cry, dammit, I have to be strong for Feliciano. And I can't give up now… I'm a badass, sexy Italian…! I don't cry…" he muttered to himself.

Romulus noticed their exchange.

"Feliciano, your brother is a bit… tired right now, so just keep quiet for a little bit, okay?"

Feliciano pouted again.

"...okay, nonno."

But in his attempt to sit quietly, he fidgeted and squirmed a lot. He also kept humming a song, which annoyed the hell out of Lovino.

Lovino just decided to put him out of his misery.

"Fine, bastard, you win. You wanna play a game or what?"

Feli's demeanor visibly perked up at that.

"Ve! Really, fratellone? Oh, oh, oh! Let's play "I Spy!" then! Please, Lovi? Pretty please?"

Lovino rolled his eyes at the mention of the childish game, but he humored Feliciano.

"Fine, but only this once. I'll start. I spy with my little eye… something yellow."

Feliciano thought for a moment.

"Veee… is it…ummm…"

Lovino knew he wouldn't realize it quickly, so he just sighed and said, "Give up? Thought you would. Dumbass, it's the-"

"THE SUN, VE! It's the sun, right fratellone?!" Feliciano smiled that obnoxious smile of his (no, it was NOT endearing in the slightest. Nope. Not at all.) up at his big brother, expression expectant.

Lovino blinked.

Once.

Twice.

He couldn't believe that his stupid 2-year old little brother actually got it. Feliciano was supposed to be super dumb, right?

Huh.

"...Yeah, that's right… bastard. How did you know?"

Feliciano giggled.

"Well, that was only thing that was really bright and yellow that I could see, ve! Also, I saw you looking at it earlier, Lovi!"

...How could someone so stupid be so observant at the same time?

Weird.

Was Feliciano actually gaining brain cells?

Hopefully. Maybe then he wouldn't have to explain every little thing to him, and Lovino wouldn't have to deal with the dumb shit anymore.

Hmph.

"Okay kiddos, were home!" Rome's voice jerked him out of his thoughts on how Feliciano could possibly be acquiring brain cells.

"Ve! Yay, we're at nonno's!" Feliciano eagerly bounced in his seat as the car pulled up into the driveway.

Meanwhile, Lovino grumbled moodily about it and remained a grouchy buzzkill.

Meanwhile, Feliciano kept growing, and his grin started to come back in full force.

Meanwhile, Romulus watched them grow with positively adorable brotherly love between them!

...

AN: First chapter done! I have a feeling this rewrite will satisfy you guys a lot better than the previous chapters did. :D

Please review – constructive criticism are the best types of reviews out there!