Cupid's Curse

So this is a random idea that popped into my head at a totally unrelated point in time. I'm not really sure where it came from. Well, that's just the beauty of my mind, I guess~

I don't own Hetalia~

Morning light burned through the thin layers of skin that covered my eyes, turning the precious darkness red and shattering my dreams. I must not have closed the blinds before I had gone to sleep. Something I would damn well not forget again.

The details of my dream were already slipping from my memory but I could still grasp enough for me to wish I had never woken up. There had been someone with me... Someone my String led to.

My String. The thought made me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Slowly, I cracked my eyes opened and raised my left hand over my face, just to check. I already knew it would be missing, just as it had every morning of my life. My pinkie lacked a String -red or otherwise- and I felt my mood sink back to its normal level.

Such a mood was only made worst when my fratello came running into my room and jumped onto my bed like he was an eight-year-old again. There was another mistake I wouldn't be making again: forgetting to lock my door.

"Buongiorno fratello~" He said, leaning over me so that I got a clear view of his excited face and his wide amber eyes. The eyes that made older girls squeal.

I rolled over, not wanting to face his radiance so early in the morning. Just looking at him sometimes made my eyes ache, especially on mornings such as then where I just wanted to crawl in a hole and be left alone -and lonely- for the rest of my life.

What was the point if nobody was meant for me anyway?

Except fratellino wasn't deterred. Instead he asked his usual question. The one that made my chest tighten painfully each time he asked it -which was everyday. "Has fratello's String appeared yet?"

I, of course, responded the same way I always did; I covered my face with a pillow to hide my misery and explained how it didn't work that way. "The Red String of Fate doesn't just appear if you wish hard enough, fratellino. This isn't a Fairytail. You're born with it and you die with it. If you don't have one... then you don't have a destined true love."

I removed the pillow to see how he was taking it only to find him staring out the window a some ladybug trying to get inside.

In that moment, I wished I had a flyswatter.

"Feliciano!" I exclaimed, chucking my pillow at him to get his attention. "Were you even listening?!" The answer to that question was obvious from the way he jumped and looked over sheepishly.

Before I could start yelling at him though, he attempted to distract me with another repeated question. "Where does mine lead to, fratello? Who am I destined to be with?"

I sighed irritably, realizing that today was going to be one of those days. The days where fratellino won't leave me alone until I answered whatever questions popped into his brain. It didn't even matter if he had already asked it before.

"I already told you that I don't know." When he didn't appear to accept my answer, I gave him the same explanation I gave him each time he asked this question. "Your String is too long right now. Your destined lover is far away. When you get closer to your destined time, your String will get shorter, pulling you towards them."

"Except if my String gets cut, right?" He asked.

I was shocked. Apparently, fratellino had been listening more than I thought. Maybe he just liked to have me talk about the Strings and his destined partner.

"Well, yeah, but it's very unlikely to have your String cut, unless someone deliberately cuts it." I explained slowly, hoping I wouldn't have to go over this again with him. Thinking about the Strings and my lack of one was already painful enough.

"What happens then?" He pressed, tilting his head to the side with genuine curiosity. Apparently, he really hadn't been listening.

I growled out, "You should know this already, fratellino. Haven't you listened to anything I've said?!" I was sick of answering his questions over and over again.

Feliciano held up his left hand to the light filtering through my window as if he might be able to see what I saw.

The String around his pinkie always made me feel terribly lonely but also happy, knowing that fratellino had someone to watch over him later on in life. I thanked God that it wouldn't be me.

"I just want to know all the details. I want to know why fratello doesn't have a String, even though he has a destined partner out there." Fratellino tried explaining for once. At least he'd only have to say it this one time.

I held back a snort. It was just like fratellino to be so optimistic about such a lost cause. He was just built that way.

Perhaps when I was a kid -before I really understood what the Red Strings on everyone else's fingers meant- I had been like that too. Now, years of knowing that no matter who I dated or fell in love with, they would always have someone else and I was born to be alone had turned me bitter and irritable.

"Feli I-" He didn't let me finish.

"What happens if my String gets cut?" He asked, repeating his earlier question.

I sighed. "If your String gets cut it means that something drastic has happened between you two, to the point that it's messed with destiny. Like say, a sudden death of the other or a giant fight between the two of you."

Then Feli smiled, ruining the serious moment. "But fratello can fix it, right?"

Words that fratellino shouldn't hear bubbled up but I bit my lip to hold them back. 'Not if he's dead'. It wasn't exactly true either, but that was a little too complicated for Feli to understand.

I tried to smile and nod at my fratello. "Si. I can mend your String if something happens." It was truly the only good thing about my 'power'. It was also the most painful.

Fratellino's smile faded. "That's not the only thing fratello can do, is it?" He asked quietly.

My own pitiful excuse for a smile dropped off at the thought. Grandpa had already told me everything I could do a long time ago, before he disappeared... I shook my head quickly, not wanting to think about the whole story behind our current location.

"No. I can do other things as well." I held my breath, silently begging for him to leave that subject alone.

For once, he actually did. He smiled at me once again. "Do all Strings look the same?"

I was surprised once again by my brother's unusual assortment of questions. This was a question he had never asked before. I couldn't remember the last time he asked a new question.

"No." I said after thinking it over. "They're all different depending on the two people and the romance they will have."

His eyes practically shined then. "What does my String look like, Lovino?"

Gently, I reached out a hand and touched the String that was invisible to everyone but me. A wry smile made its way to my lips. There was no fear of me breaking it, that was for damn sure.

"It's very thick." I said, not telling him what that meant. I wasn't his personal fortune-teller. "But it's also very soft. Plus, it's bright red." I tried not to gag as I remembered my very first lesson about the Strings.

Grandpa knew all about the Strings. He was the one that taught me in the first place. It should've seemed odd to me but I had never really thought about it all that much. He was Grandpa, he just knew. I was a kid, I wasn't going to question him about something like that.

My first lesson -after Grandpa realized that I could see the Red Strings of Fate- was about what the appearance of a String meant. That's how I knew that fratellino's future partner would be good for him. The String told me.

Grandpa gave me four specific characteristics to look for: color, thickness, texture and length. Then he told me the basics of each. He had used Feli as an example so I could understand better.

Feli's String was bright red, which as my grandfather had told me apparently meant he and his partner would have a very active sex life. This was not something you wanted to know about your brother when you were only fucking seven, believe me. That being the first thing he taught me about my brother was truly horrifying. Though it was entertaining when I looked at Grandpa's String and noticed that it was a lighter shade of red. My womanizer grandfather wouldn't get as much romance as he would be expecting.

Fratellino's String was very thick which meant (surprise, surprise) how strong their bond will be. This was one of the best things Grandpa could've told me (definitely better than learning about his sex life). I could've tripped over his String and it wouldn't have been damaged at all. There were other Strings that were so delicate I couldn't even touch them without them breaking.

Soft. His String was crazy soft. Another reason why I couldn't wait for his String to shorten. It meant that whoever Feli would end up with they would treat him gently. They would be kind and trustworthy and sweet to him. Well, I couldn't be certain about that last part but I would make sure of it myself. I had connections -even at just fifteen. I still knew that he would be gentle with him, which was a good sign for the other three.

The last one -length- was exactly as I had told fratellino before. His String was too long for me to follow. Even when Grandpa told me this, I had dragged Feli along with me so that I could follow it anyway for as far as I dared. We headed North West-ish for about an hour before Grandpa found us and dragged us back home. I was scolded for running off, but he also asked me where I thought it led. I told him it wasn't in Italia and that was all I knew.

I sighed and then groaned once again. I replaced the pillow onto my face. My fratello would be leaving Italia -and me- behind.

"Fratello?" He asked, tapping my ear (the only thing he could see of my face) and tugging at the pillow. "Is something wrong, fratello?"

I didn't want to talk about it, least of all with Feli. "Go away Feli." Knowing that this wouldn't work on my fratello my mind raced for an excuse to get him out of my room and convince him to leave me alone for at least right then.

"Fratello-"

"I'm hungry, Feli." It was only three words but it was more than enough to distract him.

"I'll go make fratello some breakfast, then~ Eggs or pasta~?" He wasn't joking. It had been a long time since I learned that fratellino didn't joke about pasta and it had been just as long since he learned that I wouldn't eat pasta for breakfast. Thus, a compromise was formed: he would still give me the option while I had the choice of which to take.

"Eggs, per favore." I said, smiling at the memory.

"Okay~" He replied just as cheerfully as he always was when pasta came into the picture. The constant cheerfulness was cute but also worrisome. He had a bad habit of not taking things seriously enough.

I heard his footsteps skipping out of the room and I batted away the pillow still blocking my face. My dark blue ceiling stared back at me, accusing me for not remembering all that Grandpa taught me. I glared back at it.

Grandpa told me that just because the same four features will always be there, didn't mean that there weren't others that also told you things about a couple's relationship. There were too many signs out there to teach me, he had said, but if I wanted to find out anything about an odd characteristic all I needed to do was touch the String and my 'gift' would tell me the rest.

I hadn't touched fratellino's String in a long time (it no longer tangled up the inside of the house. It was getting shorter.) and I had almost forgotten the last hint towards his destined lover. The core of his String -the part I wouldn't be able to see from just glancing at it- was blue.

My fratello was gay.

Privacy in this family was so hard to come by nowadays. Especially now that we were a family of two.

Before my musings could be finished, I heard the TV in the next room click on. It was the eight o'clock news. One of the things I hated most in this world, other than potatoes and chickens (Don't ask).

'Turn it off, Feli' hovered on my tongue, about to be released when I recognized a name. I hadn't heard the name that often but I still knew exactly who it belonged to.

I was in the living room in seconds.

Luckily, I was in time to hear the rest of what the big-breasted news lady was reporting. "That's right, folks. Rome will be grieving tomorrow. Julius Vargas -the love psychic that went missing nearly two years ago- will officially be considered dead. It'll be a sad day indeed. Especially for his two remaining heirs, his two grandchildren. "

I stiffened once she mentioned Feli and I. Instantly, I despised this Lesley person. I didn't want her talking about my brother and I as if she knew what was going on. "Shut up." I growled.

"What did you say, fratello?" Feli asked, walking out of the kitchen. It was just like him not to be listening to anything else as he cooked. It was a good thing though. I didn't want him to hear this.

"Nothing." I replied, nonchalantly switching the channel to some cooking show. "Nothing at all."

He accepted it and ran off to finish our breakfast.

After he was gone, I switched the channel back but they had already moved on to something else. I turned it off completely and sat down heavily on the couch, thinking about everything that had happened.

I couldn't believe it had already been two years. It would be way too cliche to say that it felt like just yesterday that Feli and I were put in Dane's Home for Troubled Children, but that was how it felt.

Two years was a long time. Most of the kids had gotten too old and were kicked out. Somewhere, Peter was probably still sleeping and I was sure Ravis was reading a book in his room this early in the morning. He didn't usually come out until much later (he was way too shy to be living in a group home). They were both younger than us, having three years left to live here while I was just a year under the age limit now.

Tomorrow, Grandpa's lawyer was coming to read his will. Somewhere in it, Grandpa would have set us up a place to live instead of us going to an actual orphanage. It was Grandpa's greatest fear to have us put in to one since he seemed to have some bad experiences with being in the system. I wasn't sure where we were going but I knew Grandpa had set up a place for us.

I shook away such thoughts and took six steps to the kitchen door. Then suddenly, I was falling forward and my hands were outstretched to keep myself from breaking my face. I landed ungracefully as a heap of limbs on the floor. The first thing I did when I regained my senses was search for what tripped me.

It was Feli's String, but unlike the day before it was pulled taut for the first time ever. The time where my fratello would be leaving Italia was coming sooner than I had thought.

"Ow..." I muttered, pushing myself back to my knees. My wrist began to throb but I could tell that it wasn't broken. Nothing was really hurt- except for my pride.

"Lovino, are you okay?" Feli called from the kitchen. He must've heard my fall, it was loud enough.

Instead of worrying him I forced myself back to my feet and called out that I was fine. Standing up made black spots dance across my vision though I wasn't worried about a head injury. I hadn't hit my head.

The world steadied and I headed into the large kitchen after my brother. It was like a flash of salmon. The walls, the counters, nearly everything was painted salmon. Only the cabinets -cherry it appeared- was safe from the ugly pink color. It was an instant reminder as to why I stayed out of 'Santa's Workshop'.

Feli was at the stove, scrambling my eggs while a pot of water simmered. He was obviously cooking himself some pasta, which didn't seem appropriate first thing in the morning but I didn't dare tell him not to eat it. Grandpa didn't even get between Feli and his Pasta. Bad shit happened when you did.

I stared at his pinkie as he worked, wondering whether I'll follow him when leaves or not. He was the only family I had left. I had nothing keeping me in Rome either. If I wanted to, I could go with him.

My gaze raised to his face but he wan't looking at me. He was transfixed on the eggs so that they didn't burn or get overcooked. He was always so serious about cooking. If you could call it serious, that is.

"Where do you think your String leads?" I asked him, leaning against the doorframe and nursing my swore wrist. He didn't look up from his cooking.

"I don't care." He replied cheerfully. "As long as it's near fratello's destined lover I'll be happy~"

Fratello, I thought glumly, you're too cheerful.

-Skippy-

"Come on inside, Mr. Edelstein~" Feli greeted the man cheerfully while I sulked on the couch. My chest ached.

Today, Grandpa was considered dead by everyone. This young looking guy was giving away all of his things, not even considering that Grandpa could still be alive. Everyone was just assuming -giving up- but I knew better than them. Even if I didn't know how I knew, it was like how I saw the Strings. I just knew he was still alive somewhere, even if no one else seemed to.

"Thank you, Feliciano." Roderich Edelstein replied, his accented voice (he was from Austria I think) was politely cold. When he looked over at me, he took in my crossed arms and sour expression with a sigh. He already knew how this was going to go, just as I did.

"Hello, Lovino." He said while I just glared. He didn't try anything else, just sat down on the armchair across from me. Feli sat beside me on the couch.

"Let's just get down to business, shall we?" He asked, adjusting his glasses and peering at me expectantly.

"Sure." I replied curtly.

His next words were long and boring but the gist of it was that Grandpa had left us everything but a few things that weren't really important. He also spent nearly ten minutes explaining that we wouldn't be allowed most of Grandpa's money until we were old enough and by default, supposedly responsible enough to handle it all. Until then, we would be given a monthly allowance of about two hundred dollars.

The worst news was last to come though, a smart choice on his part.

"Your grandfather struggled to keep you both out of an orphanage. He contacted one of his best friends and his friend agreed to take both of you in, despite him having two grandchildren of his own." He used the voice that adults used when they expected you to be boiling over with gratitude.

I blinked once before I let myself relax. Grandpa had set things up so we wouldn't get separated like you always hear siblings in the system do.

But Mr. Edelstein wasn't done yet. "Unfortunately his friend recently moved. The plane ticket has been covered and everything has been prepared for your arrival. All you need to do is pack your things and get on that plane." His voice had suddenly turned too cheerful. Something had to be up.

I was quick to notice the lack of sufficient information. "Wait, a plane? Where did they move to?"

I knew I had him when he flinched at my barely concealed accusation. "Well..." He was hesitant to tell me and I knew I wouldn't like the answer. "As of now, they are living in Spain"

He had every reason to try to hide this information from me.

"What?!" I shouted, leaping to my feet with a creak of protest from the worn couch. "No way! I'm not going there!"

Before he or my fratello could even think of something clever to say, I shot him my best glare and stomped out of the room, shouting over my shoulder as I went, "You can just tell Grandpa's friend to go screw himself, because there's no way in hell I'm moving to Spain!"

Yet somehow, despite my protest for the rest of the day, I still ended up at the airport with my fratello the very next week. Oh, how destiny hated me.

Announcer: The debut for Cupid's Curse is finally over~! So what do you think folks, will there be a followup chapter? That's up to all of you! Send in your thoughts and opinions of this chapter and most likely there will be more-!

Me: Hold up. There's gonna be more anyway. We -meaning me- would just prefer it if they reviewed. It's not like the whole story's gonna depend on their reviews.

Announcer: You're not gonna get a lot of reviews that way.

Me: *Shrugs* I don't get a lot of reviews anyway.

Anyway~ Thanks for reading! I really like this story so far, it was REALLY fun to write~ I hope you had fun reading it and I'll see some of y'all in the next chapter! Ciao~

KIWI\(*0*)/