Fic for Silan Haye~

a bit of a key for the characters used and mentioned.

Savino- If you read I Don't Hate You, you already know this is my OC for Seborga~ I use him a LOT.

Mariella- My OC for Sicily. She is a sweet caring sea loving girl. She adores fishing with her Grampa, but she was diagnosed with DID, dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personality disorder. Her alternate side is much darker and not afraid to get her hands dirty. She goes by the name Sicily, based on where Mariella was born.

Damiano- is Sardinia. Quiet and very alert. Out of all his siblings, he's the only one who truly knows how to read an atmosphere.

Uncle- Vatican City. I had a name for him but i forgot it and was too lazy to look it back up again -_- he's overly religious, taking in every word meant to be believed about Roman Catholicism. He loves his niece and nephews, but hates that Feli and Lovi are swinging for the other team.

Remus- only mentioned, but based off the tale of how Rome was founded. Romulus' twin brother. No one, but his brother, knows what happened to him.

Trials of Love

Antonio shifted his weight on the front porch of the Vargas residence. He checked his hair and his clothing for a final time, making sure he looked presentable on this very important day. Why is important, you may ask? Well, on Friday, last Friday before school let out for the summer, and Antonio and Lovino graduated, Antonio Carriedo finally worked up the courage to ask his crush/best friend out on the first, of what Antonio hoped would be many, date.

Lovino's answer had been shocking for the Spaniard. He'd expected either a 'hell no' and some tomato juice splashed in his face or a shy, 'Lovi' style 'yes'. However, he had NOT expected Lovino to tell him to come to his house on the following Sunday to meet his family. It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no … it was just … very nerve racking for the Spanish man.

He took a shaky breath and put on his dazzling smile. Hopefully this would win over the family he was supposed to be meeting. He hit the door bell and the door opened to reveal a young woman, wearing a uniform with the Vargas name printed on her shirt.

"Ciao~!" she greeted, "You must be the Carriedo boy we've heard so much about. Master Romulus will be pleased that you are here. I'll take you to see Savino now."

"Savino?" Lovino's youngest brother? "But I thought-"

The maid turned to Antonio, after closing the door and instructing him to wipe his feet, "Master Romulus has been waiting for this day for quite some time, Mr. Carriedo. You see, everyone in the family is rather protective of the eldest son and want nothing but the best for him. You must get permission from every one of his family members before being allowed to date young Master Lovino. If any of them think you less than what Master Lovino deserves, you will be cast out and not given the permission."

She smiled warmly, "First up is Savino, then Mariella, then Damiano, then their old uncle, and then Feliciano and finally, Master Romulus. You should take this very seriously and try not to make a fool out of yourself."

Antonio nodded, swallowing the fear and nervousness growing in him. He knew everyone but the uncle and Romulus, since he attended school with them. This was the first time he was ever allowed at the Vargas residence, so the elder family remained an utter mystery to him.

Lovino and Feliciano refused to talk about what their father did for a living, but he had a small clue. An old Italian man making more money that Antonio had ever seen, he feared to even think the answer to his question. What if he failed so badly that Romulus had him sleeping with the fishies? He'd much rather sleep with turtles …

He licked his lips as the maid led him down into a secret passage and up to a seafoam blue door with an 'S' scrawled in silver across the center. The maid knocked and awaited a voice inside before she announced Antonio's presence.

"Send-a him in!" the thickly accented voice fluttered through the door. The maid smiled and grabbed the knob, "Good luck, Mr. Carriedo. You will need it."

She pushed the door open and Antonio walked inside. The door was slammed behind him and he heard the faint click of a lock. He licked his lips in fear and turned forward.

The room was a rather small room. A set of cushy seafoam blue chairs and decorations littering the room. Maps of Italy, especially of a small Principality called Seborga. Antonio knew the youngest had been born there on a family vacation gone horribly wrong. He took pride in this and was often insulted if people mocked the small city nation.

Savino Vargas, a young fifteen year old boy, sat in one of the chairs, the one facing away from two odd doors in the back of the room. He had his bubbly smile sewn into his lips, but something dark was behind his eyes.

"Please, sit-a down. I wish to only-a speak to you." Savino unlaced his fingers and motioned to the chair in front of him.

Antonio nodded and quickly sat down, now unsure about what to do. He glanced around rather nervously, but his eyes finally settled on Savino and the boy spoke, "Now, tell-a me exactly why you want-a to date my brother."

"Because I love him." was Antonio's automatic response. And it was a very true statement. He'd been in love with Lovino since middle school and only now decided to tell him when he found out through Feliciano that Lovino was also into guys. It had made Antonio's heart soar to know he had a sliver of a chance at dating and hopefully being with Lovino forever.

"Oh, come now. You can do-a better than that, sì?"

Antonio frowned. What more did Savino want? He thought for a second. Maybe if he explained what he loved about Lovino, it would be enough.

"I want to date him because I love him. I love the smiles he makes when he thinks no one is looking. I love the way he sings and dances, oh how that sets my soul on fire and make me burn with a passion I've never felt before! I want to hold him tightly when he cries and kiss him to make him feel better. I want to be there when he's golden and be there when he's failed. I want to be the one he can trust and turn to when he needs help.

"I've never loved someone so much and I don't think I ever will. Lovino is the air I breathe, Romano is the water that sustains me and Vargas is the sunshine in my life. I love all that he is and everything he could be! I want to date him because I want to start a beautiful relationship that may last for the rest of our lives …" he smiled, feeling wonderful for getting all of that off his chest, however cheesy it may have sounded.

His emerald eyes met Savino's and he frowned. Savino seemed completely unphased by, what Antonio thought was a moving, glorious speech, even if it didn't cover all of the Spaniard's feelings.

Then the tears welled up and then Savino smiled, "That was-a beautiful~ take the door on the right~!"

Antonio looked surprised and looked to the door, then back to the Vargas, "Um … actually, if you don't mind my asking … why do I have to do all of this for Lovi? I mean … not that I really mind … I'd go to hell and back for him, but … I'm just shocked …"

"We all have-a different reasons, but Lovino is precious to us all, even if he doesn't-a realize this yet …" Savino smiled, "He's not-a only the heir to Grampa's business, but a wonderful brother. Once, when I was-a just four, a little after mama and-a papa died, he dressed up in mama's old blouse and-a put on her favorite Sunday hat and pretended to be her, just-a for me. I was so upset at our loss and-a was making myself sick by not eating because-a mama wasn't there to cut-a my food up or hum lightly, drinking her coffee and-a looking out-a the window …

"I missed-a mama so much, even if I didn't really know what was-a going on … and then Lovino did that for me. He cut-a my food and hummed like mama, until I didn't miss her as much and was able to do-a things on my own. At the age of eight, my brother became-a the one I knew would take care of us our entire lives when we need it.

"I want to-a protect my brother from everything bad that-a wants to hurt him." Savino smiled lovingly, "So take the door on the right. My sister is-a waiting for you."

Antonio felt a mixture of emotion, ranging from amazement that Lovino would cross dress for his brother, excitement that he passed the first family member and a bit of understanding. It seemed each member of the Vargas family had a reason to protect Lovino and Antonio wanted to understand why they had reasons.

He stood up and thanked the youngest and made way to the door on the right. He opened the door and found himself in another white walled room with decorations of Italy, flowers, fish, underwater posters and maps of Sicily.

Mariella had been born in Sicily when the family lived there for a year or two. The young girl was sixteen and was so sweet and nice. She loved her siblings, but rarely got along with Savino.

Two large fuchsia chairs sat where Savino's had been in the other room. Mariella was sitting in the chair, clutching a book on diving, the special kind a lot of people used in Sicily. The name escaped Antonio as he sat down in the chair. He looked to the sides of each room. Instead of two doors on the back wall, there was one on each side.

"Oh~?" she looked up from her book, "Hi, Toni! Wasn't expecting you yet! Oh well, welcome to my little paradise~! Aren't those pictures pretty?" she pointed to a wall of photographs taken underwater, "Those are off the coast of Sicily! I took them myself last summer!"

She smiled, "Anyway, we're here about Lovi, sì?"

"Sí …" Antonio smiled, shifting his weight in the chair to get comfortable.

"Good!" Mariella laughed, "First thing's first: If Lovino were to be drowning in shark infested waters with no chance of you surviving if you jumped in, what would you do?"

Antonio was caught of guard by the strangeness of the question but smiled, "I'd jump in anyway and swim him to a rock or some sort of safety before using my own body as a distraction to keep Lovi safe … I'd never forgive myself if he died when there was something I could do, even if it meant I died saving him. Fire, car, lightening, you name it, I would take it for him."

"Aw, so sweet~!" Mariella squealed. Antonio grinned, hoping that meant he won her over.

The only female Vargas leaned back in her seat and blew a puff of air at her angled curl and grinned, "Okay, here's another question: Lovino, my dear brother, cheats on you with another. You catch them. How do you handle it and what do you do?"

Once again, Antonio was caught off guard. His heart twisted in pain and rage at just thinking of his heart being torn apart like that. What would he do if he were to come onto a scene like that?

"Well … this is a lot harder … um …" he felt his heart throbbing painfully, "I'd be angry … terribly angry … I'd kick the other person out of the house … and then I would ask Lovi why I wasn't enough for him. I'd let him know that as long as he's happy, he should do whatever he wants, even if it tears out my heart. If he's unhappy with me … I can't force him to stay. And if, by some miracle of God, he does decide to make things work between us, I'd do anything in my power to make sure he's happy again … even try my hardest to build the trust back up … I love Lovino and I mean it when I say I'd do anything for him, even let him go."

Mariella smiled, "Door on the left." she pointed to the door on their left.

He frowned slightly, wondering why it was different than the last one. Had it been the wrong answer to give? He sighed and nodded, "First … can you tell me why you're so protective of Lovi?"

Her sea-green eyes changed drastically, the green fading into a darker, more acidic color. Those once calm seas were now toxic and deadly, "Of course, but first, why the fuck would you even think of asking such a personal fucking question?"

"Curious?" Antonio offered, wondering if he should have just run for the door. He'd never seen this side of Mariella, "Mari … are you okay?"

She tilted back her head and let out a glorious deep dark laughter, "Me? Mari? Oh honey, I don't fucking think so. You see, Mariella was so deeply affected by her mother's passing, having witnessed the murder itself, her mind blanked and created me to handle the stuff so she wouldn't have to. I'm named after the Island of her birth, Sicily, so don't fucking confuse us again, got it?" she hissed, standing up and grabbing Antonio by the collar.

"You wanna know why I fucking protect my brother? Because he fucking understands me and Mariella. When gramps put me in the fucking mental ward, where I was diagnosed with DID, Lovino came on his bike, every fucking day to visit me. When I finally got out because Mariella learned how to control her dark side, Lovino was the one to accept me as another sister, not just the psychotic side of Mariella, like every one else. He didn't treat her different and he didn't forsake me either! In fact, he liked hanging out with me!" she shoved Antonio back into the chair and stood up, her posture much more menacing than Mariella's had ever been.

"Now get out of here before I pump your ass full of lead, bastard." she growled.

Antonio stood up, caught between fear and awe, "S-Sicily, right? I'll remember that …" he smiled, "It's nice to finally meet you!"

Sicily's face lit up red and she glared, "Just get out of here, bastard ass loser before I change our mind about letting through that door."

The Spaniard nodded and waved before heading to the next door and pulling it open. The next room was Damiano's and filled with decorations from Sardinia, another Italian island the Vargas family had lived in before. Their third son had been born there. He was a quiet boy, who usually preferred the Sardinian dialects to the Italian his family spoke.

"Sit." he said softly.

Antonio nodded and seated himself in the pastel colored chair.

Damiano just stared Antonio over and watched him carefully.

"Do you want to date my brother?"

"Yes …" Antonio answered.

"Do you like him?"

"No, I love him …" Antonio tilted his head, wondering what was going on.

"I see. What do you think of Savino?"

"Um … he's friendly, smart, and funny."

"Mariella?"

"Sweet and caring~!"

"Sicily, assuming you met her."

Antonio nodded, "Scary, but I can tell she's just like Lovi in her own way. Misunderstood and alone. She just wants to be noticed."

"Feliciano?"

"He's absolutely adorable and sweet and such a great person~!"

Damiano looked at Antonio intensely, "Feliciano decides he doesn't want to date Ludwig, but rather, you. Tell me. What do you do?"

"Feli is cute, but he's no Lovino … I'd hate to break his heart, but I would have to turn him down. I admit in the past, I wasn't perfectly attentive to Lovino's feelings or him in general and would rather have spent time with Feli … but things change. I saw that Lovino was far deeper than his brother could ever hope to be and while Feli is wonderful at making friends, Lovino needed them more. I would just tell Feli that Lovino means more to me than anything and turn him down, and, because I know Lovino is the jealous type, I would even break my friendship with his brother to let him know I love him more than I do Feli …"

"Take the door to the right."

Antonio nodded, "Why are you so protective of Lovi?"

"Because he's adorable." Damiano blinked.

"What?" the Spaniard raised his brow. Didn't he have some sad 'Lovi was there' reason?

"Just that. I think my older brother is adorable. Feliciano and Savino are cute, too, but his cold attitude makes him adorable. I say this in a fraternal way." Damiano frowned, noticing the odd look on Antonio's face, "I'd hate to see such a cute face wasted on some person not serious about what's on the inside rather than what's on the outside."

Antonio nodded again, "I see …" he smiled and headed to the door he'd been instructed to go to.

Inside was a very blank room. The only decoration was the white chairs marked with a cross. An old man sat in one of the seats, reading through his old and worn bible.

"A man shall not lay with another man as he does a woman …" the man breathed, not eve looking at Antonio as he continued reading the multiple highlighted pages.

The Spaniard sat down, already feeling uncomfortable with this family member. How was he supposed to talk to someone this religious about having homosexual relations with his nephew?

"I'm sorry, come again?"

"The Lord looks down upon those of you who indulge in this sinful act and I should turn you out now in hopes of saving my nephew, but he talks about you non stop when he's not taking care of his brothers and sister." the old uncle growled.

Antonio bit his lip nervously, hoping his sexual orientation was overlooked.

"Do you believe in our Father?"

"Yes … I was raised Catholic, sir."

He scowled, "And you still turned out this way? Pity."

Antonio wondered if Feliciano and Lovino were both treated like this in their daily lives. He growled at the thought of Lovino being scolded for being bisexual.

"Now tell me, Carriedo … do you feel any remorse at all for dragging my nephew to Hell with you?"

"That's it." Antonio growled, "I'm tired of my parents and everyone else in this world telling me I'm wrong for being gay. I am only as God made me. There is nothing wrong with me! Nor is there anything wrong with Lovi. It's in my belief that God doesn't care who a man or woman sleeps with, but rather that they live their lives to their fullest and be happy!

"Lovino isn't going to Hell for loving another man and I'm willing to fight tooth and nail to make sure people like you, who try and guilt others into thinking there's something wrong with them, from harming my Lovi. He's a beautiful loving human and deserves to be treated that way, no matter what gender he sleeps with!"

"Calm down, brat." the uncle growled, "I just want to make sure he is happy, too. I hate that he wants to be with you, and his brother wants to be with that German boy, but there's nothing I can do, now is there. Sure I could turn you away and be done with you, but do you have any idea how it feels to look onto your nephew, your first nephew and swear to protect them, only to have him turn away from his religion? No? That's what I thought. I want what's best for him, even if you are it." he was now standing, nose to nose with Antonio, "I've got my eye on you, Carriedo. If you even think of stepping out of line, I will not be afraid to bring the wrath of God down on your head."

Antonio nodded, not backing down.

"To the left and make it quick before I knock some sense into you." he grumbled, sitting back down.

With out hesitating, Antonio made his way to the door to swing it open. He slammed it behind him and took a deep calming breath to clear his head. He was in the next room, Feli's, so at least he'd passed.

Feliciano sat, happy eating pasta, that he made with the stove that was in his room. Not one inch of the white walls could be seen, as they were covered in pictures of football, him and his friends, pasta, his family, pasta, Italy, Venice, pasta, gondolas, the Grand Canal in Venice, pasta, a map of Venice, pasta, pasta and more pasta.

He sat down in the bright red chair and smiled at the brother he knew best, "Hey Feli~!"

"Ve~!" was the only reply as he finished off his plate of lasagne. He set it aside and smiled, "Want some?"

"Uh, no thanks Feli … I ate before I got here." he'd been warned by Lovino to do so.

"Oh well … so~ you finally asked Lovi out? How exciting!" the younger brother asked. He was only a year younger, but he looked so much like Lovino, most thought they were twins. They even shared the same birthday.

"You were the one who encouraged me to do it …" Antonio smiled.

Feliciano laughed and nodded, "Ve~ so I was! Okay, so, let's get this started! Why do you stick around my brother when he can be so mean? And I mean mean mean, like big fat meanie pants, mean."

After finally digging the question out of that mess Antonio smiled warmly, "Because there's a steel wall wrapped tightly around his heart and I want to see more of what's beneath it~ I've seen how soft and caring he can be and I want to see more of that."

Something he'd never seen before happened next. The golden honey eyes became like molten lava, "And if you find there's nothing there? What if Lovino turns out to be a hollow man, used up from years of taking care of his family? What if the Lovino you want to see does not exist?"

Antonio was taken aback. He was surprised to see Feliciano acting so strange and cold.

"He wouldn't have put a wall up if there wasn't something worth protecting and even if he was empty like that on the inside, I love the Lovi I see every day more than enough already. I don't care if there is really a mystery behind why Lovi hides his heart, but I do care about him."

Feliciano smiled brightly again, "Ve~! I knew you were good for Lovi~! I'm just worried about him. He's the closest family member I have and has always looked out for me since we were little. I'm afraid that now that I have Luddy to turn to, Lovino might be mad or upset. I've watched Lovino grow up second in our grampa's eyes and I just want him to come first for once. I love him dearly and want what's best.

"Lovino used to pretend that he wasn't scared of thunderstorms just so I wouldn't cry during them. He would cuddle up against me in my bed and cover my ears and sing loudly until I fell asleep, even though he was scared, too … I'm no longer afraid of thunderstorms, but those are the memories I hold dearest in my heart when there is one. Sometimes I wonder if he's still afraid of them an it makes me feel bad because I can't go comfort him and he do the same for me … not any more. Take that door to grampa and good luck."

Antonio hugged Feliciano and silently made his way to the door Feli had pointed out. He opened it and instead of a brightly lit, white walled or decorated room, he found a dimly lit office like room. A desk sat in the middle and the only light was the lamp sitting on the corner. Many pictures littered the desk, including family photos of the boys and girl on their vacations. One in particular was laying in front of an older man on the desk. Antonio recogzined the photo immediately. It was a picture that he'd given Lovino for his sixteenth birthday of Lovino and himself cuddled on the couch sleeping. His older sister, Rosana had snapped the picture because they'd fallen asleep watching some movie.

The man, he assumed to be Romulus, was a friendly looking man, dark chocolate curly hair, slight red tint like that of his grandchildren, few greying spots. Rough stubble on his chin. He was the opposite of what Antonio expected.

"You're way too young to be a grandfather!" Antonio gasped, sitting down.

Romulus chuckled, "Ah, flattery will get you no where, young man, but thank you~!" he ran his finger over the glass of the picture, "You want to date my Lovi, right?"

Antonio nodded, answering this question for the hundredth time.

"What is his dream?"

"Oh? He wants to open up a restaurant downtown to serve authentic Italian cuisine and once he gets things rolling, he'd like to have open mic nights where singers can sing and all that. He told me about it a hundred times~! I love the way his face lights up when he talks about being the first up there to play his guitar and sing for his customers."

"Haha, yes, it is a cute face~ now tell me, where was Lovino when his mother and my son passed away?"

Antonio bit his lip, "He and Feliciano were at a friend's house because their parents had to take Mariella to the doctor …"

"And how did they die?"

"Sh-shooting … after they left the clinic, a mugger … shot and killed them both …" he squeezed out through his constricting throat, "Lovi told me last year on the anniversary of their death …"

Romulus nodded, "He seems to trust you quite a bit. It's hard for Lovino to trust people. That's the way I raised him. In his sixth grade year, he was completely alone except for his siblings, especially Feli, why did you of all people become his friend when no one else would?"

"That's a story I haven't told anyone yet~!" Antonio smiled, though his sadness leaked through, "I have two really good hetero life mates, Gilbert and Francis. We were practically born together and we've been raised together. I love them to death … but sometimes … they can be rather mean people.

"I was new to that school, having attended homeschool for several years before my father sent me to public with Gil and Franny. I only knew them and of course, Gil's brother and his brother's best friends, Feli and Kiku.

"I didn't know Feli had a brother until I saw Gilbert and Francis … beating up someone after school one day. At first, I thought it was Feli and I was confused, until I saw his hair was darker and he cursed quite a bit.

"After pulling Gil and Fran off of him, I was attacked by him in his fear and desperation." Antonio laughed lightly, "He has one hell of a punch. After that, I learned that he was Feli's older brother and Feli told me he was lonely. I decided to get to know him better and found out we had one of our classes together. Slowly, but surely, I got Gil and Franny to leave him alone and became his friend, even when he yelled at me to stop.

"And you know what …?" Antonio smiled softly to himself, thinking about his Lovino, "I don't care if you give me permission or not … I want to be with Lovi no matter what and if he says he'll be with me, then I don't care what anyone else thinks … I love him more than anything else~"

Romulus laughed, "A bit bold, aren't you. I had a twin brother once. Remus was his name. However, only one of us could take over the family business … he's not with us anymore … but anyways, I want, like all of the others have told you, what's best for Lovino.

"He is heir to my business and I will kill anyone who dares hurt him, in love or otherwise. The moment that child was born, he took my heart. I live for him and his siblings. Lovino is my star-"

"Then why do you favor Feli more?" Antonio bit out, kind of annoyed.

The man's eyes narrowed, "Feli has delicate feelings. He's like a rare flower that needs extra care. Lovino needed the kind of care I gave him because he needed to grow into the man he is. He can't run the family business with Feliciano's kind of trusting personality and I think the only people who deserve to be around him are the people who can get through to his softer inside." Romulus stood up, slamming his fists into the desk, "And if you ever doubt my love for that boy, I'll kill you where you stand." he walked around the desk and grabbed Antonio up by the back of his shirt.

He dragged Antonio to the door on the right and shoved him into the door, "Twist the knob. I want you out of my sight."

Antonio frowned, his heart beating fast. He grabbed the knob and twisted. Romulus pulled the door open and threw Antonio to the ground inside and slammed the door behind him.

The Spaniard groaned in pain, his heart throbbing painfully. How could he fail like that when he was so close? He looked up to see where he was and was suddenly knocked to the ground by a body. Lips were sealed tightly against his in a crushing kiss and his eyes widened as he looked up to see Lovino, tears streaming down his face.

Antonio pulled away from the kiss and looked at Lovino confused, "I thought …"

Lovino held onto Antonio tightly, "I saw and heard everything … you're such a bastard … a sappy loving bastard!" the Italian kissed him again, "Grampa is letting me date you, jerk …"

"But … how? I pissed him off …" the Spaniard asked, taking the advantage of Lovino hugging him but hugging him back and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

The oldest of the Vargas siblings blushed, "I saw … you really meant all that stuff you said? Every word? About loving me and doing any thing for me?"

Antonio sighed, still confused on the whole Romulus thing, but smiled, kissing Lovino gently, "Of course. If I had known you were watching, I would have said even more so that you knew just how I felt … Lovi, I love you, do me the honor of being my boyfriend."

"You think I would put you through all that if I was about to let you fucking not date me? If you'd changed your mind about after meeting that crazy bunch of freaks, I'd have forced your ass to date me. So yeah. Fuck you." he blushed and turned his head, slowly pulling out of his earlier cloudy joy.

Antonio laughed lightly and hugged onto Lovino tighter than ever, "I love you so much, Lovi~! You make me so happy!"

Lovino rolled his eyes, his face growing darker red, "Yeah, yeah … I've only heard that a hundred times this after noon … you sound like a fucking broken record …" he buried his face into Antonio's neck, "Now take me on a fucking date, bastard. I'm hungry."

"Anything for you Lovi~!" he stood up with Lovino, and looked around, "Um … how do we get out of here?"

"To the left. There's a stair well that leads up into the safe room and from there you're taking me out to dinner."

"Sounds good to me~" Antonio smiled, kissing his boyfriend's knuckles, causing Lovino to blush and look away.

XD I loved how this turned out ^_^ I hope you enjoyed~! even with all my ocs XD

~Lady Pyrien