Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, only the story plot and ideas.

Birds chirp as the day starts out. Romano Lovino Vargas, who prefers to be called by his middle name, walks to the college campus with a slouch. His brother, Feliciano Vargas, is several meters in front of him, excitedly skipping as he exclaims small 've's with every three steps. The older sibling by two years sighs as his amber eyes watch the younger one make a fool of himself. They're both entering this prestigious college known for it's diverse students that come from all over the world. The College of Saint Himaruya. Such an interesting name yet Romano knows nothing of this Saint Himaruya the college is named after.

The Italians take their first steps on campus as they search for the building with Financial Aid. They know they're not the first Italians on campus, but very few Italians do come to this campus. It's a privilege to be granted admission to Saint Himaruya. Romano could care less.

He was only at this college because his grandfather left them a will stating that he wishes for his grandsons to come here. If it was Romano's choice, he wouldn't be going to college at all. He would be working so he could save money for the restaurant he wants to own in the future. Since his nonno savedsaves money for them both to go to this college, Feli caused his brother to feel guilty until he agreed to go to college. They both would be starting as freshmen late in life since they're 20 and 22 now. Feli graduated high school when he was 17 and Romano was already out and working at 19.

The youngest wanted to go to college straight after high school but was unable to do so when their grandfather fell ill. Romano kept working as Feli took care of Romulus Vargas. This went on for two and a half years until the big man passed. This event took a toll on Feliciano, as he was the closest one to their nonno, but Romano also felt the loss. Their grandfather was his savior, so he would respect the man even after death and do as he wishes. Albeit stubbornly.

Romano catches up to his brother who stands in front of the building they need to go into. Feli smiles bright and loops his arms around one of Romano's, dragging him in and up the stairs. The eldest brother struggles a little but let's his brother do this. A small smirk appears on his face for a moment before he frowns again as they enter the Financial Aid office.

"Thanks so much, Mr. Engle!" The two pass a taller, tanned man who smiles wide at another man before shaking his hand. "I can always trust you to help me with my scholarships."

"It's no problem, Antonio." Mr. Engle smiles back as he shakes the other's hand. "Be sure to come back if you have any other questions or concerns."

"Will do!"

Romano watches the two speak as his brother goes over to make an appointment for themselves. His amber eyes gaze at the tanned man, checking him out as subtlety he can. He jumps when Antonio turns and locks eyes with him. A shiver goes down his spine as he sees a certain sparkle in the man's green eyes. For some reason, this strangerstrange seems interesting yet also something else.

"Hola!" Antonio waves as he takes a few steps over to the other. "Are you a freshman?"

Romano feels like he shouldn't answer. Not just because he doesn't want to. He merely nods with a wary gaze. "What of it?"

"Oh, nothing." The Spaniard chuckles. "I'm a sophomore. I was just going to say that if you need help or anything and you see me on campus, don't be afraid to say ask fordo my help."

The man's cheery demeanor causes Romano to mentally cringe as he leans away. He reads another kind of context behind Antonio's smile, but he ignores it as he shrugs a reply. "Whatever."

"Lovino!" Feliciano comes over and clings to his brother's arm. "We should go sit down and wait."

The elder brother opens his mouth to reply as he slowly looks over. In the corner of his eye, he sees Antonio's face twitch for just a second. When he glances back with his mouth shut, the man is smiling.

"Yeah." He turns his back on the Spaniard as he walks with his brother towards some open seats. "Let's just get this stupid meeting over with."

Romano ignores the prickly feeling of eyes on his back as he retreats from the other man. Feliciano doesn't realize what went on between his brother and Antonio, but he knows that his brother felt uncomfortable. Romano mentally thanks Feli for pulling him away. Antonio's eyes still stare at them before the man finally leaves, and they are able to meet with their Financial Aid representative.

"Tell us again why you wanted to go to the college!" Feli crosses his legs in front of their grandfather as he scooches closer to the giant man. "I know you went for art, but there was something else, right?"

"Of course!" Romulus laughs jovially. He gazes over at his other grandson in a far corner, clicking away on the desktop they own. "Romano, come over here and listen."

"Buzz off, old man. I'm working." The young man doesn't even turn towards his guardian. His focus is solely on the article he's reading for work. "I don't have time for your stories." He would remind his grandfather that he prefers to be called by his middle name, but he doesn't. His nonno can call him whatever. He's the only one with that privilege.

"Please, Lovino."

Romano ceases his movements as Romulus calls him by his middle name. He sighs, turns in the computer chair, then gets up to join the other two on the couch. The elder man smiles as he ruffles his nipote's hair up, avoiding the strand of hair that curls to the right. Romano huffs and crosses his arms.

"Get on with it so I can get back to work."

Romulus laughs with a nod. "Alrighty then." He looks at Feli, the one who is interested, and soon starts telling the brothers his stories at the College of Saint Himaruya.

Romano stares up at the ceiling of his dorm room, blinking away the sleep in his eyes. He yawns and sits up, ruffling up his hair as he scratches his head. Hearing some movement to his left, he sees his brother in his own bed waking up slowly. A grin appears on his face as he sees Feli's eyes open before closing up again.

"Oi," Romano throws his pillow at his brother, "no falling back asleep. We need to pick up our books today and get other shit ready."

Feli moans tiredly. "But Lovino," he whines. "I wanna sleep."

"So do I, but I'm not gonna be a bitch about this." He stands up and goes to their shared dresser. "Think, you idiot. The quicker we get this stuff done, the quicker we get back to sleep."

At that fact, Feliciano gets out of bed and dresses himself. He sighs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "All we have to do is pick up our books?"

"Yeah." The elder brother ruffles up his little brother's hair. "The rest I can do myself so you can rest."

"Okay." Feli leans on Romano.

The latter rolls his eyes and lightly pushes his brother off. "Come on, lazy bones. You might get to meet new friends."

Feliciano smiles at that and instantly gets dressed. Romano shakes his head, finishing up on getting dressed himself before heading towards the door. They soon exit together and Feli shows a sudden burst of energy once they're outside. This amuses the elder Italian brother as they walk to the bookstore which is in a building on the other side of the campus from their dorm. The walk is refreshing as the afternoon air brushes by them. Feli rushes ahead and twirls around across the quad, Romano watching him with a small smile on his face. That guy can still act like a kid at times.

When they reach the other building, they enter and head towards the bookstore. It doesn't take long for them to get into the line already there, but Romano's the one holding their spots as Feli browses. He sighs as he keeps his eyes on his energetic brother. Holding both their schedules, he knows that these books will be quite expensive for both of them combined. Thank God for the Financial Aid that pays for most of their books. Also, their nonno saved up plenty enough money for both of their tuitions and their books. How the hell he got all that money, Romano will never know.

At least, Romano tries to forget that he even knows.

He moves up in the line and reaches one of the two workers. He gives them the two schedules and the slips saying that Financial Aid is paying for it all. The person takes the papers and goes around to collect the books. This is when Romano searches for his brother only to see him talking to a tall man with blond hair slicked back. His protective nature over his brother flares up but he forces himself to calm down. He remembers saying that Feli could possibly make new friends, but he didn't think he'd try this fast. This may be good, but Romano still doesn't like it. He can't move to do anything either or he'll lose his spot and have to wait again to just get his books, so he just watches them.

The blond man seems to be flushed as he speaks with Feli. The younger Italian animatedly talks with the other, an obvious smile and blush on his face. Romano doesn't like seeing this and makes fists in his pockets. After losing their nonno, Feliciano is the only person he has. He doesn't want to lose him even if it means stopping him from being with someone. He knows that's selfish, but who else will be with him until the day he dies?

"Hello again!"

Romano jumps, doe eyed as he glances at the person who suddenly appeared next to him. He soon relaxes but scowls as he recognizes Antonio from the other day. He turns away, ignoring the man as he waits for the books him and his brother need.

Antonio seems to not be deterred by the other's actions. "So, I realized yesterday after leaving that I never really introduced myself." He steps into Lovino's line of vision and offers a hand to shake. "My name's Antonio."

The Italian ignores the offered hand and takes the two bags full of books. He turns and walks out of the line towards his brother. Antonio drops his hand and follows the other. He doesn't speak a word but Romano knows he won't give up. With a sigh, he stops and turns half-way around.

"My name's Lovino. Now, would you please fuck off?"

The same sparkle shimmers in Antonio's eyes as he smiles brighter. "Nice to make your acquaintance, Lovi."

Romano's eyebrow twitches. "Look, we're not friends and we're not going to be friends. I don't even know who the fuck you are. Personally. So you have no right to give me a damn nickname." He scowls up at the other. "Seriously, go screw around with someone else who's willing to put up with you."

He leaves the other once more, glad that he doesn't follow him unlike last time. His amber eyes search for his brother soon spotting him near the cashier with the blond man. Romano walks over with a glare and lightly pushes his brother.

"Oi, I've got our books. Lets go."

"Aw, but Lovino," Feli starts with his quivering lower lip, "I don't want to go back yet."

The elder brother glares up at the taller man behind Feliciano, who refuses to make eye contact with him as he tries to pay for his own things. Romano then gazes at his brother. They have a mute conversation between their eyes and he soon sighs.

"Fine. Whatever. Do what you want." He turns towards the exit, opting to ignore his brother's smiling face. "Be back at our room before dark, at least."

"Okay!"

Romano leaves knowing his brother is happily making friends already. He sighs again, walking outside of the building. He stands still for a moment on the sidewalk and glances up at the sky. With a small grin on his face, he hums a tune he used to hear his nonno hum. Glancing back down, he continues walking towards his dorm. A warm wind breezes by as he goes across the quad, and a starling flies by, hovering in the air for a moment as it looks at Romano then continues on its way. The Italian laughs quietly as he watches the bird, knowing just who it was.

Note: I'm only posting this chapter out for now to gauge the reactions from you guys. This story will be different for me and probably a long one. I'll be working on it here and there, uploading slowly if I think it's good enough to continue on here. I've also kind of changed the way I see some characters as the years have gone by. You might find I've been writing a little more descriptively, which is how I like to write, but I hope it's not redundant or boring. I literally got the idea for this story after reading Killing Stalking and talking about characters based off that comic with my girlfriend. They're not exactly like the characters from Killing Stalking, but the trope is what we're using. It's different, and different things are interesting to pursue.

This hasn't been beta-ed or edited since the last I read it so there might be mistakes.

Ciao: I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter installment, dearies! Thanks for reading! R&R.