Sooo ... the day I wrote this, I was ... I dunno what was wrong with me ... I was crying over everything -_- seriously ... I watched the Hetalia Titanic Doujin again, played HetaOni, watched a super sad SuFin doujin (which has similar properties to this story), watched the Lorax (and yes, I even cried at the end of that) and then got on my facebook and saw a shared post from my friend ... the post is what this whole thing is based on. Enjoy and have a happy February Fourteenth (even though I might put this up earlier than that -_-)
Bouquets
It was their first Valentine's Day as an official couple! Lovino paced in his room the night before, wondering what he was going to do for his boyfriend, Antonio. Sure their Valentine's Days before then were mostly comprised of going to the cheesiest romance flick in the theatres and laughing at all the gush, but that was before Antonio had confessed his love to Lovino. This turned their relationship from best friends to lovers.
So that left Lovino in a real predicament. He hadn't gotten a person a Valentine's gift since he was in the fourth grade and he was forced to pass out the small cards that came prepackaged in a box. Now he was actually in love with someone and openly showing so. What did you get your boyfriend for Valentine's Day?
Should he be smooth and just make him a romantic dinner or maybe he could buy him something beautiful! Oh wait, he'd just gotten a new watch for Antonio for his birthday a few days ago …
Lovino let out a defeated sigh. He felt like the men he used to make fun of in those cheesy films, rushing around wondering how to make the loving day even more special. He could just go with tradition and the two could still go see a movie! But … they just went and saw that one for Antonio's birthday!
He dropped onto the bed and huffed, blowing some hair from his face. There was nothing he could do! He wasn't an artist like Feliciano, so he couldn't just draw something sweet, nor was he really good at making chocolate like Femke … so that was out.
What to do, what to do?
He glanced at the clock and sighed at how late it had gotten. There wasn't much time to think. He had to sleep now.
Lovino finally gave in to the desire to sleep and let out a soft groan as he fell into a stress filled sleep.
He awoke the morning of the fourteenth to his door bell ringing. Feliciano was at the potato's house, so Lovino was forced to go answer it.
There, at the door, was a man dressed in a delivery uniform, "Hey, is there a Lovino Vargas here?"
Lovino raised his brow and nodded slowly, "Si, that's me."
The man smiled, "Hi, I'm Kevin from Floral Arrangements here to deliver a special gift!" he held up a large bouquet of lovely flowers. They were perfectly arranged in an elegant fashion and Lovino blushed deeply.
Before he could ask the man anything, Kevin had already walked to his truck and drove off.
The Italian shut the door and looked at the mix of carnations and roses and other flowers.
There was a little card sitting in the middle. Lovino plucked it up and slowly read over the words.
'Lovino, like these flowers of love, my admiration for you blossoms! My love for you grows! – Antonio'
With misty eyes, Lovino set the flowers down and grabbed his phone, quickly dialing a number he knew by heart.
'Hello?'
"You better get your Spanish ass over here right now!" Lovino yelled into the phone before hanging up.
It wasn't long before Antonio was met at the door with a sobbing Italian claiming he was being an overly mushy lover boy … but he wouldn't want him any other way.
The next year, Lovino received another bouquet of fresh flowers and a card that spoke of Antonio's growing love for Lovino. Later that day, Antonio proposed to his love.
Their wedding was gorgeous and they couldn't be happier. On the very next following Valentine's Day, he once again received a bouquet. The same words were scrawled onto the card in beautiful print.
It was this way throughout their live together. Every year Antonio would get Lovino a lovely bouquet of flowers with a mushy love note on it.
They eventually adopted a set of twins from an orphanage center, which they loved with all of their hearts.
Tristan was the older of the two. He was the happiest child to ever walk the playground, while his sister could have passed for Lovino's long lost twin. She was usually grumpy, but she was Antonio's little angel.
It was their seventh Valentine's Day as a married couple and Lovino was eagerly awaiting the arrival of that delivery truck while he fixed up the five year old little girl's hair. She squirmed in his lap and let out a big sigh, "Maaaaaammmaaaaaa, are you done yet?" Romana frowned, crossing her arms.
Lovino looked away from the window and smiled softly at his daughter, "Of course, sorry, just waiting on something~"
Sure enough, the truck pulled up and a delivery man got out bringing Lovino his special annual present.
"Mama?" Tristan walked up to the man holding the gorgeous assortment, "What are those for?"
Lovino turned to his son, "These are flowers from papa. He gives them to mama every year on this day~"
After Antonio got home, the two went out to the movies, leaving the twins in the care of their uncle Feli, whom was going through the process of getting children himself. Lovino and Antonio both agreed he needed the practice. Though, Lovino would have preferred giving him a puppy instead of his own children.
However, things always worked out and the happily married couple would go out to some cheesy romantic movie and giggle at all the lame things the characters did … even though the two admittedly did some of those things as well.
The following year, Lovino sat in his living room with Feliciano and his newborn girls, carried by a surrogate mother. Katerine was the older of the two and took after Feliciano, while the other was the spitting image of Ludwig … minus the little curly tuft of hair, trademark Vargas.
"You see, we both donated genetic material and they were fraternal~!" Feliciano explained, rubbing his daughter's cheek. She cooed and opened her pale blue eyes. It was hard to tell if Katerine would keep the blue eyes or if they would become a honey color like Feliciano's.
The doorbell rang and Lovino jumped from his seat on the couch to the door, where a very familiar suited woman was standing with an also very familiar bouquet.
He smiled down at the flowers and read the card, which held the same words they always had.
Forty years passed and Lovino went from watching his grandchild playing to the hospital in a matter of minutes.
Tears rolled down his cheeks as he held his husband's hand. Antonio smiled up at him, despite the mask covering his face.
"I'm sorry, Lovi … I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer …"
Lovino growled, "Don't say things like that, bastard! You're going to be fine! You hear me? Fine! You can't leave me, damn it …"
Antonio squeezed his hand and smiled, "I love you, Lovi."
"Love you, too …" Lovino whispered, desperately clinging to his husband. An hour later, the widower stood in the halls, sobbing into his son's chest. His daughter held her arms around him and cried as well.
Several months passed and Lovino sat in his empty house, listening to the television ramble on in the background. It was playing some silly Valentine's Day special. It was a movie he saw with Antonio ten years ago.
He sighed and shut it off. Ever since his husband's passing, he'd become grumpier and grumpier, refusing to leave the house, refusing to clean up Antonio's old things, refusing to continue living, despite only being sixty-seven.
A soft knock at the door had the man growling and grumbling. "When I get my hands on whoever is knocking, I'm going to wring their ne-" he whipped the door open and fell silent. There was a pretty young woman holding up a bouquet of flowers.
Lovino glared slightly at the flowers, but slowly took them from her. She said her farewell and rushed off. He set the flowers down, immediately picking up the phone. He was beyond angry … his heart was breaking … those flowers …
'Hello! Floral Arrangements! How can we service you today?'
"Listen here and listen good," Lovino started, "I don't know what sick joke you guys are playing but it isn't funny!"
The line was silent for a moment, 'Sir? Has there been some sort of mistake?'
"You bet there has! My husband died months ago and you expect me to just brush it off when you deliver the god damn bouquet? I don't think so!" he choked out, tears already brimming his eyes, "I want to know the meaning of this! It has to be some sick joke or terrible mistake!"
'Can I get your name, sir?'
"Lovino …" he muttered, "Lovino Vargas Carriedo …"
A few moments of silence, 'Aha! There we go! Yes, your husband was Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, yes?'
"Yeah …" Lovino whispered.
'There's no mistake. Before he passed away, Mr. Fernandez Carriedo paid up front for several years' worth of bouquets for you. He asked us if we could absolutely make sure you got them every Valentine's Day.'
Lovino fell silent, his heart filling up his throat.
'Sir?'
"Y-yes … um … thank you …" he hung up and let the tears fall before he turned to the bouquet, a little card sticking up from the top.
With shaky hands, he pulled the card from the carnations and roses and opened it up.
'Lovi, my sweet Lovino, my love for you is eternal. Happy Valentine's Day. – Antonio'
~Lady Pyrien
So yeah ... 68 year old Sue Johnson of Houston Texas wrote her story in a column. She had 46 years of marriage and four kids before he died. Ten months after he passed, she received the first bouquet since his death... this little story made me ball my eyes out ... I guess maybe I'm so emotional now because I'm finally getting to visit with my boyfriend for the first time on Valentine's Day ... I hate to sound all gushy but this is our third one and we've never spent the day together ...