Porque me siento orgulloso
Antonio had never been a dull man, even if he did have his moments where he wasn't quite genius. He knew how to read the atmosphere when he needed to, he just never really saw the need to. So he knew Lovi didn't love him. He had always known that they would never be more than friends.
Knowing that didn't stop the hurt though.
Because Lovi thought he was dense, apparently, and decided to flaunt all his female company. It was cruel and mean and just…Lovi, actually. Still, it was obvious he had never slept with any of the girls, though he did a fine job of looking like he did. Everyone knew Lovino Vargas was a virgin and that it most likely wouldn't change any time soon. Not without a little help, anyway.
How many times had he offered his help, he couldn't remember anymore. Always he would be yelled at and given a few good kicks before he would start laughing and just telling the Italian that it had been a joke. Lovino apparently disliked jokes that were 'French' and only got more angry. His face burnt bright red and he would usually stomp off.
That didn't make the pain go away.
~Pomodoro~
"Lovi we have to leave soon or we're going to miss the party!" Feliciano called up just as Antonio got the knot finished on his tie.
He turned, smile in place for sheer force of will, to allow Lovino to inspect his handy work. Lovino always insisted he dress at the twin's place so he could be sure that the Spaniard dressed properly - Francis often joked about him just moving in, but he thought he might die if he did. Lovino always found something he needed to change. Like the way his shirt was tucked in or how his pleats were arranged. And Lovino always fixed the problem himself.
Today he was thankful it was just the tie. The few times it was his poorly tucked in shirt, he thought he would die of embarrassment. Yet another reason he knew the feelings were not mutual. Lovino did not seem to get flustered by, or eve notice, Antonio's…condition. But a tie? Ties were easy, nothing about fixing a tie could turn him on.
Tch, yeah right. And Francis is a virgin.
Lovino stepped closer, fingers swiftly undoing the rather crooked knot he'd made. Antonio stood still, partially because if he so much as breathed wrong, Lovino would kill him. But mainly, it was because of he didn't stand still and control himself, he would push Lovi against the mirror and - Dios, he couldn't think about it. How did Lovino not see how stunningly sexy he was? Especially in his red shirt that was just slightly too small and hugged him beautifully and those black pants that were perfectly wrapped around slim hips. Dios how he wanted to use those hips to hold him still while he made him forget every woman he had ever dated. He wasn't Spanish for nothing, you know.
"How do you always manage to mess something up?" Lovi spoke more to himself, something Antonio was very glad for because he was sure if he opened his mouth sentimental dribble would pour out. And then Lovino would leave and then…what did he have without Lovino? He'd have to leave his job at the restaurant, leave his apartment that was right down the street from the Vargas house, he'd have to cut all ties with the Italian or risk dieing a very slow and painful death.
"Perfect." Lovino declared, red rising in his cheeks so Antonio had to fight not to call him a tomato. "Now let's go you idiot." He turned and stomped out of the room as if something has annoyed him. Antonio sighed. How could someone so cute be so angry?
~Pomodoro~
Italiano Vero was a small restaurant on the town's main street. Lovino had opened it shortly after finishing his business schooling, determined to remain the black sheep - however much he denied it - of the Vargas family by not going into art. He called cooking an art, though his grandfather had always disagreed, but he had obviously never seen Lovino cook. Antonio hadn't either until he got a job there, despite having known the Vargas' his entire life. He put dancers to shame. The way he moved through the kitchen, the concentration and care he gave every simple task… Lovino himself became the art. That was when Antonio had realized no matter what he did he would never love anything more than Lovino Vargas.
Apparently the rest of the world had shared his sentiment because a chance encounter with a chef from Los Angeles has given Lovino a spot as quest on his show and brought in so much extra business that he now had to expand the restaurant. He's also hired Francis and Heracles as another cook and waiter - he didn't particularly like Francis, but he couldn't be trusted with customers and the only other option had been Arthur and, well…he couldn't poison people. Antonio had applied but Lovino refused, claiming he 'couldn't stare at his stupid face all day.' he had laughed it off despite the hurt that Lovi would rather be near Francis all day rather than him.
Regardless of his problems, they were celebrating Lovino's hard-earned success. Their friends, which usually meant most of the relatively small town, had been invited and Lovino had used his extra funds to pay for the best alcohol he could get imported - though his grandfather had helped a little with that; the man seemed to know half of Europe at times. Needless to say, everyone was at least tipsy by the end of the night.
Arthur was the worst, having to be dragged home by a less-than-tipsy Alfred. Francis had found company in the form of Gilbert's date as she had been abandoned the second the albino had set drunken eyes on Alfred's twin. And Antonio… Antonio was currently building up the confidence to simply kiss Lovino.
It was all Francis' idea, or the shortened version seeing as the original involved deflowering the Italian in the freezer, and he felt that getting as drunk as possible was the best way to approach a delicate situation such as this. With every glass of sangria he could feel himself growing more confident that Lovino wanted this, the little voice telling him right from wrong growing smaller.
He watched Lovino from his corner as the Italian spoke with Feliks and Toris, sipping delicately from his wine glass. He knew Lovino was still sober, having about as much tolerance as Ludwig - who was currently being hung on by a decidedly too drunk Feliciano - which meant he needed all the confidence he could get.
He downed the rest of his drink and finally deemed himself ready. He may have stumbled just a bit on the way, but he managed not to fall, that was what was important.
Lovino looked at him strangely as he approached the trio. He wasn't so much angry as curious, though he could see the heat in his cheeks. Such a cute tomato, his Lovi. He wanted to taste such a cute treat.
"Bastardo, what do you think you're doing?" Lovino looked very angry now, his cheeks bright red. So cute.
"I'm going to tell you a secret." Antonio whispered as he leaned heavily into Lovino's side. Lovino stared at him as if he's spoken Russian, almost ready to blow up. So, fearing a tirade before he got his chance, Antonio leaned down those three inches and kissed him.
Or he thought he did. In reality, he leaned down and promptly fell asleep on Lovino's shoulder, leaving one very embarrassed Italian to kick everyone out and drag Antonio back to his apartment. It was late anyway, so they could complain to someone else.
The Spaniard was still asleep as Lovino undressed him and laid him gently on the bed. Figuring the idiot would need help in the morning, Lovino undressed as well and climbed into bed with him. Sure they were older, but it was just like when he was little and would run to Antonio whenever there was a thunderstorm or his parents got in a fight.
The only thing different from then was that when he crawled into bed Antonio immediately wrapped himself around him and began to whisper incoherent Spanish in his ear. He managed to catch tiny words, only knowing a few thanks to Antonio's attempted Spanish lessons as a child. What he heard though, was too much for him. He couldn't believe the words, coming from a drunk man.
Choosing to ignore the Spaniard, Lovino rolled over and focused on his breathing and the quickened heartbeat of the man next to him until he fell asleep.
~Pomodoro~
Antonio awoke to the smell of some cologne he knew he had never bought. As sleep vanished and his senses came to, he recognized it as Lovino's and sat up so fast he fell from his already precarious perch on the bed.
His head spun and hurt worse than he remembered from the last time he was hung-over but he managed to peer over the edge of the bed to find a very flushed, very tired and very naked Italian staring back at him.
"Ah… Buenos Dias?" He felt his cheeks flush as well as he noticed his own state of undress. He still had on his boxers with the little tomato print but anything could have happened last night. Why couldn't he remember? He knew he had gone over to kiss Lovi, but after…nothing. Mierda.
"Buon Mattino, bastardo…" Lovi whispered, covering his face with the covers and seeming to fall back asleep. "Well?"
Antonio stared, confused. "Que?"
"Are you coming back to bed or not? You don't need to be up."
Oh. He climbed back up, wrapping himself in the warmth of his blankets. Lovino moved, slowly but surely, so he was just touching his shoulder. Antonio stared at him for a second before laughing and hugging the now red Italian close.
"B-Bastard! Don't act like we did it! Nothing happened!"
Eh? It didn't? "Not even a little kiss?"
"Not even! You fell asleep on me damn it!"
Damn, now he had to make another plan. At least he knew why he couldn't remember anything. Still…
"If nothing happened Lovi why are you lying so close to me?"
"It's…It's not like I want to! I'm just cold! It's not my fault you're a damn heater." He pouted and turned away from Antonio.
So cute… "Are you sure nothing happened, Lovi? I know when you're lying~!"
Lovino was silent for a long time until Antonio thought he had fallen asleep.
"Did…Did you mean what you said…last night?" he whispered as if hoping he wouldn't be heard.
Last night? What had he said? He couldn't remember. All he knew was that he dreamt Lovi had kissed him and he had confessed over and over in Spanish and Lovi had no idea what he was saying. But it had been a dream, surely it had, because Lovi had been dressed as a tomato.
Apparently he took too long because Lovino huffed and made to leave.
"Don't leave Lovi! I'm sorry, but I cant remember… What…What if I try real hard and when I remember I'll come to work all dressed up and then I'll tell you? Si?"
He expected him to call him stupid and leave, but he was surprised again as he went back to his spot and nodded. He still called him stupid though.
~Pomodoro~
Two days went by with very little of Antonio's memory returning.
He had spent all of his breaks and free time racking his brain for what he could possibly have said to Lovi. He might not have tried quite as hard if not for the lingering and extremely searching looks the Italian kept giving him. Work was confusing as holy hell, him being yelled at for spacing out and multiple tips being docked by mixing up orders.
Finally giving in to his own brilliance at memory loss, he broke down and arranged a clandestine meeting with Feliciano to discuss the matter. He met him at the family owned ice cream parlor run by his neighbors. He usually wasn't a fan of the frozen treat, but they had very unique flavors - most created by the owner's 'wife' and son - and he enjoyed watching the unintentionally frightening Swede become drastically less so when interacting with his Finnish boyfriend and the 'Sealandic' boy they had taken in. Plus, it was right down the street from Feliciano's college.
Antonio waited for Feli, slowly eating the newest flavor Tino had created - it was supposed to be tomato, to celebrate Lovino's success, but it couldn't quite hold a torch to the real thing - and patiently listening to Peter's dramatic retelling of the founding of Sealand. The boy was surprisingly well-read for a ten year old. Tino said it was his way of distancing himself from his former family. No one had ever met them, but there were several rumors going around that Arthur was his father - they shared a very odd trait in the form of enormous eyebrows.
He laughed lightly when Peter threw a scope of ice cream across the room and it landed on Feliciano's nose as he walked in. the youngest Italian looked shocked at first, swiping a bit of the treat on his finger and popping it in his mouth. As he recognized the projectile as harmless vanilla he laughed and joined Antonio at his table.
"You should get a job with the army, Peter, you could throw the grenades for them." Feli smiled as he wiped the melting treat from his face.
"Mama said the army was too dangerous, but I'm going to join the militia of Sealand so I can help it get recognized."
"Make sure you check with Papa before you start training, si? So you don't get hurt." Antonio laughed at the boy's enthusiasm, though he agreed with Tino. Peter certainly was not made for any type of fighting, he was too sweet.
"I will! He knows lots about fighting because he gets into fights with Uncle Mathias all the time!"
"Peter, I need your help back here!" Tino called from the back, sending the boy running, all too eager to assist with anything and everything.
"He's so adorable si? You and Lovi should get a kid together Toni."
Antonio chocked on his ice cream. A kid? With Lovi? …Perhaps they should start off with a turtle. Or a relationship, for that matter.
"I wanted to talk to you about Lovi. Has he…said anything about me lately? Like if I've said anything I shouldn't have?" He didn't want to admit how nervous he was. What if he had said something mean to him by accident? But then he wouldn't have stayed in bed…
"Ve? He said you said 'te amo mucho mucho grande' over and over again! It's about time Toni! Fratello was about to yell at you about not confessing sooner."
Antonio missed the last of Feliciano's explanation, already on his way out as soon as te amo was said. His shift started soon and he still needed to change.
~Pomodoro~
Heracles was waiting at the host podium when he arrived. The stand was usually just for show, as people could simply seat themselves so long as they weren't too busy. It was only about an hour before opening and he could hear Lovino cursing at Francis already. He smiled and Heracles gave him a knowing smile as he slipped into the kitchen.
Antonio wasn't sure what Heracles said but he was soon flat on his back with and armful of Lovino.
"About fucking time, bastard." Was all he said before warm lips were pressed against his and he really didn't think he was still living. Surely he had died, right? Lovi never acted like this, ever.
Just as soon as it started, Lovino was pulling him to his feet and sending him off to set tables as if none of it had happened. The only reminder that it wasn't a dream were the small kisses they stole when Antonio dropped off orders and the floating feeling in his stomach that was starting to make him far too giddy for his own good.
~Pomodoro~
"Oi, bastard, get down here already! We're gonna be late damn it!"
Antonio laughed as he half ran down the stairs of the house he now shared with Lovino. After a year of dating Lovii had finally given in and allowed Antonio to move in with him and Feliciano. Roma moved back to Italy shortly before, meeting up with am old friend there, though they all expected the relationship went deeper. Feliciano was moving out now, having - finally - gotten engaged to Ludwig. Which was why Antonio was once again in a suit. They were going to the engagement party.
He did a little spin at the bottom of the staircase, trying not to smirk as Lovino practically fainted at the disarray of his clothing. His shirt was untucked and wrinkled, his pants didn't match his vest and showed his ankles which were covered by a pair of electric blue socks.
"F-Fucking bastard! Are you trying to get killed?"
Lovino blushed furiously, something that still hadn't changed after all their…experiments.
"If you don't like it, Lovi, you can dress me yourself."
Now he did smirk as Lovi looked ready to die.
"God damn it Antonio, we cant miss this party. I have to keep Feli from marrying that bastard!"
"It would only take a second Lovi. All I'm asking is for you to change me."
He could see the gears going in the Italian's head, weighing the options.
"Fucking… Get your ass upstairs right now. I'll be right there."
Antonio gave him a jaunty salute and marched back up, starting to remove his vest and shirt along the way.
They missed Feliciano's party and Lovino called the next morning to apologize. Antonio heard Feli laugh knowingly and was glad he had finally been able to pay the boy back, even if it was a year late.
A/N: Wow I've been on a Spamano kick for like a month now... I still have another two shot that I have to finish typing and parody that I wanna finish writing before posting. I just love these two too much!
There will be another side to this, from Romano's POV! I haven't started yet so I'm not sure when I'll be up. Maybe next weekend though...
I'm not really sure why I wanted Su-san to run a ice cream shop...It just popped up...I think I'll blame True Blood though ( way too much Eric Northman in my life .)
Also, the 'te amo mucho mucho grade' part is only really there because my friend was talking to her boyfriend on the phone and she kept saying that for at least 20 minutes. It was pretty funny at the time...
Oh! The restaurant name means True Italian and the title is Because I am proud. I got the idea from L'Italiano by Toto Cutugno. It's amazing! Seriously, look it up.