"-Vargas! Mr. Vargas!"
The words went in one ear and out of the other. As the professor continued to shout at Feliciano, the birds continued to chirp and wind proceeded to push the leaves in a gentle sway, seemingly more suitable for his attention.
"Jesus Feli pay attention!" Whispered Antonio urgently as he smacked his leg under the desk. Feliciano forced his eyes away from the window and turned to his friend with a pained expression.
"But this class is so boring!" He whined.
"Mr. Vargas!" Called the professor from the front of the class. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Feliciano's answer.
"I'm sorry Mr. Yao could you repeat that?"
Mr. Yao sighed and flicked his low ponytail over the side of his shoulder onto his back. "Just because I am your substitute for today doesn't mean you students get to slack off! I'm not a Sociology teacher what is this?! I should be teaching my Art History class!" Mr. Yao suddenly dropped his pointer onto the desk and began to erase the chalk board. "You know what, class dismissed. You may all leave now."
As everyone began to quickly pack up and silently cheer in fear of him changing his mind, a hand along with a small voice peaked up out of the crowd.
"But Mr. Yao sir, we've only been here ten min-"
A sudden hand over his mouth delivered by his brother kept him from finishing his sentence.
"Don't question him Matthew. Now hurry up so we can get the hell out of here," whispered Alfred urgently.
Just as Feliciano finished putting his books in his backpack, Antonio's hand clasped around his elbow, pulling him towards the door; Alfred doing the same to Matthew.
"Congratulations man, you are the one who finally broke old Wang," said Alfred as soon as they were out of the classroom.
Feliciano laughed and shrugged his arm out of Antonio's hold. "Yeah, I guess I am."
"So what are we going to do for the next hour and 20 minutes?" Asked Alfred, still pulling Matthew along side him.
Feliciano yawned, "I think I'm just going to go back to the dorm, I'm kinda sleepy."
"I'm coming with you, Lovino doesn't have class for another 45 minutes." Said Antonio as he checked his phone.
"Aww. Now what are we going to do?" Alfred gestured to himself and Matthew, who had now broken free of his brothers hold now that they were outside of the building and walking back towards the dorms.
Antonio sighed and ran a hand over his face. "How about after Lovino's class we all meet up at the café or something?"
A round of nods went around the group.
"Aren't Gilbert and Francis in Lovino's class too?" Asked Matthew.
"Yeah, and Arthur's class should be ending in about an hour." Said Alfred, checking his watch. Matthew elbowed Alfred in the side at the mention of Arthur. "Ow, hey what was that for?"
"Are you ever going to confess to him? Or are you just going to act like you are just friends?"
Alfred turned towards his brother, "Ha ha what are you talking about Matthew?" Matthew just stared back blankly and then Alfred whispered, "I'll do it eventually, maybe, I don't know." He turned back to Antonio and Feliciano. "Anyway, yeah let's all meet up at the café in a couple of hours, bye!" And then he was gone, dragging Matthew along side him as they ran in the direction of their dorm.
The other two simply watched in slight shock, though they felt they already knew without having to be told that Alfred liked Arthur. Though to just have it bluntly put out there, and by Matthew to say the least, was a little bit of a shock.
"I knew it." Antonio and Feliciano said in unison as they began walking again towards the dorm.
"He makes it so obvious yet he refuses to tell him, or even us, that he likes him." Said Antonio after a while.
Feliciano nodded. "It's not like we don't know, I think we've all figured it out by now."
"Except for Arthur."
"Yeah, except for Arthur."
"He's about as blind as a bat to it."
Feliciano laughed and that was the end of their short conversation before they got back to the dorm.
"Hi honey I'm home!" Cheered Antonio as he flung open the door. Lovino practically fell out of bed, his book jumping out of his hands. Antonio hurriedly scampered to Lovino to help him up.
"Jesus Christ Antonio you scared the shit out of me." He said as he sat down on the bed and tried to find the page he was on in his book. He looked up and saw Feliciano setting his things down on his bed across the room. "Hey, I thought you guys had class."
"We did," said Feliciano, sitting on the bed, "but he said we could leave."
Lovino looked shocked. "He did?"
"Well, we had Wang substituting today and yeah he let us leave after ten minutes. Feliciano wasn't paying attention, I can't blame him though that class is the most boring thing in the world, and Wang just kind of went on this little rant about how he shouldn't be teaching Sociology because he is the Art History professor and yeah he just let us leave. It was great. So now I get to spend some time with you before your next class."
Lovino pushed Antonio away and walked over to Feliciano. "What does he mean by you weren't paying attention?"
Feliciano sighed and fell back onto his bed. "That class is so boring! I'm majoring in Art not people stuff. I don't even know why I have to take that class."
Lovino flicked Feliciano's forehead. "Because, it's good to know a little about how the human mind works. And you only have to take one year of it so just deal with it like I did."
"We're all going to go to the café after your class, you can go right?" Asked Antonio, cutting into the miniature fight.
Lovino faced his boyfriend and thought for a minute. "Who's all going?"
"Pretty much everyone. We have a definite yes on Alfred, Matthew, Feli, and I, and then we don't know for sure yet but I'm pretty sure that Francis, Gilbert, and Arthur are coming too. So what do you say?"
Lovino sighed, "That really is just about everyone. Alright, yeah, I can go. We can't stay out too late though I have to work on a paper that's due tomorrow."
"Deal!" Said Antonio as a broad smile reached his lips, he then tackled Lovino onto the bed and whispered something into his ear that caused a blush to rise to his ears and for Lovino to smack him away, obviously flustered.
Feliciano smiled at the sight of his brother, it was rare to see him smile like that and he hoped that he would never stop. He mentally thanked Antonio for that, he seemed to be the only one to be able to make Lovino so happy, and he hoped that it would always stay that way.
Grabbing his backpack he headed out towards the door. "I'm going to go ahead and go to the café, I'll see you guys in a couple of hours."
He heard a muffled "okay" before he closed the door behind him.
The walk would take at least twenty minutes depending on how fast he walked and if he got distracted by any stray kitties or not. He left the building and began walking towards the end of the campus. They never did like going to the café that was on campus, it was always crowded and the girls there would always try to talk to them. One day they went out hunting for a new spot and they found a nice, secluded café about a 20 minute walk away from campus, and that had been their designated hang-out place ever since.
Except for when it was very bad weather and they couldn't go, then their hang-out spot was his dorm room. Feliciano never really understood why, Francis once said that it was because it was the biggest, and Gilbert said that it was because they always had food stocked in their mini-fridge. The reasons varied, but it was always their dorm.
He hiked his backpack higher on his shoulder, the textbooks wearing it down. He figured that if he left now, he would be able to get some quiet time to finish his homework. He had thanked the gods that the professor wasn't there for their Sociology class today and that they had a substitute, otherwise they probably would have had another paper to write. All he had to do was finish his one research paper for his Art History class and that would be all.
Once he finally got to the gates of the campus he took a right and walked along the sidewalk, ignoring the glances being cast his way. Even though it was a nice café, the neighborhood that he had to walk through to get to it wasn't the kind that you would want to walk through alone. Sure he had done it before, but he normally walked with his friends and brother. As he kept walking towards the café and deeper into the sketchy neighborhood, the glances of worry and curiosity slowly emerged to glances of suspicion and hunger. He knew that all he had to do was walk just a little bit faster and not make eye contact with anyone until he was into the clear.
He stuck to the sidewalk and walked quickly, his heart beating faster with every hungry look cast his way. Luckily, even though it was a bad neighborhood, it was also small, and he managed to pass through it within about ten minutes. He made a left and this road was much friendlier, he would be at the café soon.
Soon enough, the café was in sight, and he practically sprinted to it. Once he got to the building, he set his bag down and leaned up against the brick wall, catching his breath. What he didn't expect was for something to brush up against his leg. Startled, he looked down, only to see the stray kitten that always hangs out around this café.
"Hi there." Feliciano cooed as he stroked the calicos head. "Long time no see huh?" The kitty purred as it rubbed its head against Feliciano's hand. "Well, I have to go inside now. I have to finish my paper and then wait for my friends. Stay around and if I finish early I'll come back out okay?" The kitty swerved between Feliciano's legs as he stood and meowed. "Bye kitty!" He smiled as he walked towards the door, the cat it tow. As he opened the door he realized that the cat was still behind him. "No, you can't come in here. Stay." He gently pushed the kitten back with his foot as he closed the door behind him. It meowed once before watching Feliciano choose a seat near the window, and scampered over to him. Feliciano waved at the kitten and watched as it meowed and then curled up into a ball and fell asleep.
Feliciano sighed as he opened his backpack and took out his laptop and research notes. Just as he was about to begin a girl wearing an apron with long brown hair approached him.
"Hey Feli! You want the usual?" Asked Elizabeta.
Feliciano looked up at the sound of the voice. "Oh, hi Elizabeta! Yeah, the usual will be good, thank you!"
She scribbled his order down on her notepad before looking around slightly confused. "Where are the others?"
"Oh, they won't be here for a while, I just decided to come early so I could finish this paper." He indicated towards his laptop and the several pages sprawled out across the table.
"Oh, okay then I'll leave you alone then. I'll be back in a couple of minutes with your drink."
"Okay, thank you." After that she left behind the back doors and he returned to his paper. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later she returned with a mango smoothie in hand.
"Here's your mango smoothie," she said. "Good luck on your paper little bro."
"Thanks Elizabeta!" He called as he took a sip of his drink. She gave him a smile before returning to her post.
Feliciano had known Elizabeta ever since he was a kid. They had always been friends and then they ended up going to the same college together. She had always been close with Feliciano and Lovino, even though she's not that much older than Feliciano, since she's Lovino's age, she always refers to the both of them as her "little brothers."
It took him about an hour and three mango smoothies, but he finally finished his essay. About ten minutes earlier he received a text from Lovino saying that their class got out early and they would be there in 20 minutes. He closed his laptop and packed up his papers and shoved everything into his backpack before lying back in his chair. "Finally done," he sighed.
As he lied there in the near silence a sudden shuffle out of he corner of his eye caught his attention, it was the kitty waking up from its nap. Feliciano quickly remembered his promise and hurried out the door to the kitty, leaving his stuff there so the workers know he didn't just bail.
"Hey little kitty, did you miss me?" He chirped as he sat down against the window next to the cat. The kitten quickly hopped onto his lap and pawed at his shirt, causing Feliciano to laugh. "I guess I should give you a name huh? I see you enough, and I hate just calling you 'kitty'." The kitten purred as he continued to stroke its head. Just as he was beginning to think of names he realized something... he doesn't know the gender of the cat. With hesitation, he stopped petting it and flipped it over onto its back gently. "Heh... sorry about this," he said before he gently spread the back legs of the kitten and took and peek.
Boy. It's a boy.
"Okay little buddy," said Feliciano, "now that I know that you're a boy, I need to give you a name." He thought for a moment as he studied the kitten, the colors and patterns on his fur.
"Ginger?" He tried, only for no reaction from the kitten. He decided to try a different one.
"Patches? Your fur is all patchy, do you like that one?" No response.
"Dot?" Nothing.
"Speckles?" Nothing but a blink.
"Marble?" Not even a flick of the tail.
"Snickers?" Suddenly the cat meowed and bat its paw on Feliciano's chest. "Snickers? You like that one? Okay, that will be your name!" Feliciano pet him and tried out his new name a few times; each time he would get some sort of response from the kitten which made Feliciano's heart swell.
"Feli!"
Feliciano looked up at the sound of his name, there heading towards him was a group of college boys, all being led by Lovino and Antonio. Feliciano quickly stood, taking Snickers with him.
"Hey kitty!" Greeted Antonio as he pet Snickers's head.
"Did you ever actually get a table? Or did you just stay out here with the cat this entire time?" Asked Lovino.
"Yes, I did get a table. I finished my essay for Art History and then I came out here, and I named him too! Meet Snickers!" He held Snickers's paw between two fingers and made him wave to the others. A faint smile etched across some of their faces, Francis came up to the front of the group and pet the cat's head.
"Bonjour Snickers! I don't think we've officially met, I'm Francis Bonnefoy." He gently shook the kitten's paw like a hand shake before standing up straight again. "He's a cute little kitten, I must say."
"Alright lets go inside I want a cappuccino! Oh hey cute cat!" Announced Alfred as he walked past Feliciano into the café.
One by one everybody began to file into the café. Lovino tapped his brother on the shoulder.
"Hey, Feli, you do know that you can't bring the cat into the café right?"
Feliciano sighed, "Yes, I know." He gently set Snickers back on the ground near the window and gave him a goodbye pat on the head before heading into the café behind his brother.
"Where were you sitting earlier Feli?" Asked Antonio.
"Oh, I was sitting over there by the window but it was a table for one. We'll have to find a bigger table."
"Ahh, there's everyone," said Elizabeta. A chorus of "hi"'s and "hello"'s went around the group. "Oh, yeah sorry. We rearranged a bit since the last time you were all here. I'll show you where we moved your table."
Feliciano quickly grabbed his bag from his old table and then followed the rest of the group towards a different, more secluded part of the café.
"We moved all of the bigger tables to this room, it's separate from the main section of the café but it's still really nice. Your guy's table is over there by the windows, I'm guessing you all want your usuals?"
"Yeah that would be great, thanks Elizabeta," said Antonio.
"No problem. Hey Feli, do you want another mango smoothie?"
"Yes please!"
"Alright I got ya." She then left into the main part of the café to get their drinks.
"Snickers is very cute," said Matthew as everyone sat down at the table.
"I know right?! Do you think I picked a good name for him?" Asked Feliciano.
"Sure, it's a cute name, but how do you know that he doesn't already have a name?" Said Alfred, and everyone turned to look at him and Feliciano.
"He's got a good point," said Arthur.
"Alright, alright. Why don't we ask Elizabeta whenever she comes back with our drinks?" Said Gilbert, and everyone agreed. A few minutes later, Elizabeta came back with a tray of drinks balancing on her shoulder.
"Hey, you know that kitten that likes to hang out around here? Does it have a name?" Asked Lovino.
Elizabeta shook her head, "No, it doesn't. No one had really thought about doing so, it's just a stray."
Everyone turned to face Feliciano, who was smiling broadly. "Well he has a name now, it's Snickers!" He cheered.
"Aww, Snickers is a cute name, it suits him well too, since he's a calico. Anyway I have your drinks." Everyone shuffled in their seats, moving silverware to make plenty of room for their drinks. "I'll start on the left side of the table and I'll work my way around okay? Okay, so Francis here is your vanilla latte and Arthur, here is your chamomile tea and Alfred, you had the cappuccino right?" He nodded. "Okay Gilbert here is your hot coco," she said as she handed them their drinks. She then went to the other side of the table where Feliciano sat across from Gilbert. "Your mango smoothie, Feli, and your vanilla cappuccino Lovino and here is your hazelnut latte, Antonio. And last but not least, Matthew here is your masala chai latte. Is there anything else you guys want?"
"No I think that's all. Thank you," said Antonio. Chorus's of thanks spread across the table.
"Yeah, yeah. It's what I do. Just holler if you need something." After that she left them alone to enjoy their drinks.
The rest of the night went by quickly. After their drinks most of them ordered either a smoothie or just a water; Feliciano had managed another three mango smoothies and Lovino was surprised that he wasn't sick of them yet.
They all talked about their classes and about how Alfred, Matthew, Antonio, and Feliciano had managed to get out of Sociology only after ten minutes of class. Also about how Francis, Gilbert, and Lovino got out of class ten minutes early because the teacher had ran out of chalk so he couldn't write anything else on the board, and let them leave early because even if he did teach more, it would be worthless and he just wanted to go home.
Elizabeta had eventually let Feliciano sneak in Snickers as long as her boss didn't see. As the sun set the night was filled with jokes and laughter and some cute little meows coming from underneath Feliciano's backpack, and Feliciano could have swore it was one of the best nights he had had in a very long time.