Lovino Vargas shuddered, unable to suppress a whimper. It felt like the darkness was closing in on him, slowly suffocating him…as if that alone would end his life if he didn't die of starvation first. He heard rats scurry by his feet. Soon he would be forced to try to catch and eat one of those, raw. His captors hadn't fed him in days, only giving him dirty water to drink. He had a small bucket for urinating in. Often when he used it the guards would call their buddies over, taunting their little 'pet'.

There was no hope to escape this prison. And even if there was, he had been threatened with torture should he try to flee, which terrified him much more than the idea of starving. He had pleaded for his life, and the men had merely snickered, amused.
"Oh, this is rich," One had said, smelling strongly of alcohol. "The little faggot doesn't have any balls. Don't worry…maybe we can toughen you up so you're more fun."

Despite that whole tough guy act he showed people on the outside (especially Ludwig), he was like a frightened little animal on the inside, always the prey. Lovino had always smacked Antonio around a lot, from the time he was a child until he grew into an adult…never relenting with the violent greetings. But just the small sight of blood quickened his pulse, made him feel faint and nauseated.

One of the guards approached the bars, yellow and black teeth grinning at him, sneering. "Looks like it's your lucky day, faggot! The men are bored, they decided they wanted to see how much you squeal!"

Lovino scrambled back in horror. "No…"

The guard laughed, starting to unlock the cell…but stopped when he heard shouting and metal clashing against metal from outside the room. "What the…" He locked the cell back up…and Lovino strained his ears to listen. The chaos continued until finally there was only silence.
A dark shape approached the cell, but it wasn't a guard…it was Antonio, the Spaniard breathing heavily, sheathing his bloody sword. He had the keys in his hand and was starting to unlock the cell door.

"Lovino…I'll get you out of this place," Antonio said reassuringly, dropping the lock onto the floor, rushing inside and hugging the young Italian close.
For once Lovino didn't try to shove him off, nor did he let loose a long string of profanities because Antonio took so long. He shook uncontrollably, clinging to Antonio for dear life.

"Where d'you think you're going with our prisoner…?" A menacing voice growled, followed by the unmistakable shhhhing of a sword being drawn.
Antonio narrowed his eyes…drawing his own weapon as well. "Stay behind me," He told him firmly. He then faced his foe with a fire in eyes that Lovino had never seen before. There was no cheerfulness, no laughter, no teasing. Only pure and utter hatred for the men that had hurt his Lovino.

Lovino was frozen in place, watching as Antonio dueled a man that was twice his size. He watched as Antonio moved like a dancer, even when fighting, light on his feet, graceful. But one thing was for certain. The ferocity of his attacks meant that he intended to kill this man, not simply injure.

But then Lovino noticed, with nothing less than horror…that Antonio was tiring.

He had already taken down the other guards that were barring his way from the prison cell…but this opponent was far more skilled than the others. Each attack from Antonio was less and less graceful. Each parry was more and more clumsy. Lovino saw his arm shaking with the strain.

All it took was a few seconds of reacting too late…the man's sword stabbing Antonio right through the side.

"NO!" He heard himself scream.

When the man yanked the sword out, Antonio crumpled to his knees, mouth open in shock, blood blossoming and spreading across his shirt. The man laughed mockingly, spitting at him.
"And now," He sneered, "I'll kill you BOTH."

That did it. Antonio's head shot up and he suddenly got to his feet, letting out a yell and slicing the man's head clean off his shoulders. The head hit the ground before the body and rolled over once, blood spurting from the severed neck.

Lovino managed to catch Antonio when he slumped over, lowering him to the floor.
"Oh no, no…don't you DARE do this to me, you bastard, I swear to God…!" He shouted at him.
Antonio reached up a shaking hand to gently stroke his cheek. "L…Lovi…I was so scared th-that…that they…"

Lovino shook his head, taking off his own dirty shirt, using it to staunch the bleeding. It wasn't working. It was just soaking right through. Antonio's tan face was as white as a sheet, blood trickling out the corner of his mouth.
"You listen to me, you jerk," Lovino hissed, "If you d-die…I'll never…EVER forgive you…do you hear m-me?" He choked, "I'll never-"

Antonio struggled to draw in another breath, a small smile on his face, "Lovino…te amo…mas que nada…t…te amo…" He suddenly fell silent, the light leaving those bright green eyes, Lovino still cradling his limp body in his arms.

"P-Please wake up! Fratello!"
Lovino's eyes shot open, the young man covered in a cold sweat. Feliciano was still shaking him frantically, "Lovino…Lovino…!"
"Stop that, I'm awake you idiot," Lovino snapped, trembling.
"I'm sorry…but you were screaming so loud, I got scared," Feliciano replied anxiously.
Lovino was silent…taking a few deep and even breaths in an attempt to calm his racing heart. It was just a dream. He then realized his cheeks were wet with tears.

Feliciano bit his lip, trying to comfort him. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
"Oh…it might help though! Ludwig told me that-"
"Feliciano, don't you start babbling about that potato bastard, I hear enough about him from you all day, I rather not hear it 24/7. Capisce?"
"S…Si." His brother was silent after that, not wanting to provoke his wrath further.
As for Lovino…his thoughts trailed back to the nightmare. It had been so real, so horrifically vivid.

It couldn't be…one of those vision kind of things, could it? Would he get taken captive one day, Antonio coming to his rescue…only to be brutally killed?

No…of course not. That was ridiculous.

At the same time…maybe it wasn't.

Lovino had sensed everything in that dream so strongly. The suffocating dark of the prison cell…the stench of his own waste that was never dumped from the rusted bucket. Antonio's ice cold hand against his cheek before he stopped breathing altogether…going limp in his arms, his once bright green eyes going dull and staring blankly up at him….

Feliciano saw his brother's face become very white…and then very green. "Fratello? Are you alright?"

"I'm...I'm going to be sick." Lovino covered his mouth…before getting out of bed and rushing to the bathroom, bending over the toilet and vomiting up tonight's lasagna.
The sight of it sickened him further, and he couldn't stop, retching until his stomach was empty and all that he was coughing up was sour bile, clutching the sides of the toilet.

Once he was sure he was done, he sat down on the floor heavily, leaning his head back against the wall, his brown bangs stuck to his sweaty forehead.

Quiet footsteps entered the bathroom. Lovino looked up and saw Feliciano standing there, holding out a cold glass of water. Feliciano really was concerned about him…it was written all over his face. Instead of an annoyance it brought Lovino a small comfort.
He nodded slightly and took the water carefully, drinking it all down. "Thanks, Feliciano…I'm alright now. I think I'm going back to bed." He got up and placed the empty glass on the counter, crawling back into bed, his brother taking the spot next to him.

A few moments of silence passed…Lovino still afraid to close his eyes.

"…Lovino?"

"What is it?"

Feliciano hesitated. "I…I know you're going to get mad at me but I really just want to help even if you scream at me but that's okay if you don't want me to but I just thought I'd say it anyway because-"

"Spit it out."

"…Would you like me to stay awake with you?"

Lovino glanced over at him in surprise…his first instinct to refuse….before surprising himself by nodding. "Sure…why not." He smiled.

Feliciano beamed, "I saw a smile~!"

The smile retreated. "Don't push it."

-

His brother had kept his word, the two of them staying up the rest of the night together.
Inevitably, the subject of Ludwig came up again, because Feliciano couldn't go more than ten minutes without rambling on about how wonderful and great and strong he was. As Lovino's blood pressure rose he almost regretted allowing him to talk all night.

But even so…it WAS a distraction (albeit an annoying one). He'd gladly take irritation over the horror he felt any day.

Feliciano was gone the next day, having went back to irritate and tag along after Ludwig, which was no surprise. And Lovino had successfully pushed his nightmare into the far corners of his mind, where he had dismissed it as something that would never happen and wasn't worth spending his whole day panicking about. There were more important things to worry about than a crazy dream.

Like tonight's dinner for example…and avoiding being molested by Francis.

That night he had retreated back to his room. "Ah…maybe NOW I can finally sleep…and since Feliciano's off with macho potato I can get some peace and quiet."

He hummed to himself, crawling into bed and laying down, pulling the covers over himself, settling down comfortably. At one point he rolled over…and that's when it happened.

He felt someone's arms wrap around him, pulling him close against their chest.

"AAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIE!"

He scrambled backward and tumbled off the bed, tangled in the bedsheets, "NOOOOO DON'T TOUCH ME FRANCIS GET AWAY!"

"Lovi! Lovi it's just me!"

Lovino blinked, his wide golden eyes staring up at Antonio, who was looking down at him from over the edge of the bed, concerned. "You didn't hurt yourself falling like that, did you…? I-"

"YOU!" Lovino struggled to get up, but it was as if the bedsheets themselves were holding him back and delighting in his misfortune. "YOU ASSHOLE I THOUGHT YOU WERE FRANCIS! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED? ANSWER ME DAMN YOU!"

Antonio began to answer, "Well, I –

"NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!" Lovino's heart was pounding loudly in his ears, Antonio getting out of the bed and helping him free himself from the sheets. Lovino didn't thank him, of course. "OUT!" He stormed over to the door, opening it, waiting for Antonio to leave.

"Lovi…we used to sleep in the same bed, remember?" The Spaniard asked, frowning.

"Yeah, a LONG time ago, you jerk! Now it's just creepy!" Lovino shouted angrily.

Antonio finally got up…Lovino satisfied when it seemed like the bastard was actually going to listen and leave the room like he told him to.

But he was wrong, Antonio simply gathering him in his arms again, holding him close. "I had the most terrible nightmare…that something happened to you…I couldn't get there in time…" He voice trembled…he was actually close to tears.

Lovino's eyes widened. Him too? "W-Well…it was only a dream. Don't get all emotional over it," He muttered.

"But it was so real. I failed to rescue you…and it was all my fault. If anything happened to you I'd never forgive myself. Te amo, Lovino."

Lovino felt his cheeks flush for a reason other than anger, knowing his face was now as red as the ripest tomato, much to his chagrin. "Hmph."

"You don't believe me."

"No, not really," Lovino scoffed.

His mortification only grew when Antonio cupped his chin, lifting it gently to face him, green eyes regarding him tenderly. Just when Lovino was starting to get antsy from the eye contact, Antonio unexpectedly leaned forward and connected their lips.

Lovino's eyes grew as wide as plates, a muffled squeak escaping him when Antonio kissed him. For a moment he simply stood there, frozen…and then something came over him and his eyes drifted shut.

Antonio tasted…really good, actually…

He slowly returned the kiss, which seemed to surprise Antonio at first…before the other deepened it, seeming to realize that he wouldn't get violently shoved away or headbutted if he continued.

This went on for a few blissful moments…before Antonio finally broke the kiss gently. Unlike before, he beaming…so happy his eyes were sparkling. "Lovi…you…!"

But Lovino, although still a little light-headed from the kiss, seemed to have come to his senses. And he wasn't ready to go any further than that…not yet. "Look…if you want to stay here tonight, then fine. Go right ahead. But one night only, and that's IT."
If Feliciano knew about this he would never let him live it down. "And NO touching me! I didn't get any rest last night, and I was looking forward to actually SLEEPING!"

Antonio simply smiled that charming smile of his. "Yo comprendo. …Did you have a nightmare too, Lovi?"

"That's none of your damn business." Lovino crawled into bed, Antonio taking the spot next to him that Feliciano usually slept in.

For a moment he considered telling him about the nightmare he had…but not only was it hard to talk about…he felt uncomfortable confiding in those kind of things to Antonio. Antonio very rarely saw the side of him that wasn't spilling out profanities or inflicting injuries. "Actually…I did, but…" He hesitated.

"It's okay, Lovino…you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Antonio told him reassuringly and much to Lovino's astonishment.

"Really?"

"Really."

That made him feel a lot better…and Lovino settled down once more, the usual scowl coming to his face again. "Good. Now go to sleep, you jerk."

At first, sleep refused to acknowledge him...his mind racing, thoughts of the person lying right next to him preventing him from relaxing. Did Antonio really love him? And that kiss...

Antonio noticed his restlessness, starting to sing to him sweetly in Spanish. "De colores, de colores se visten los campos en la primavera…de colores, de colores son los pajarillos que vienen de afuera…De colores, de colores es el arco iris que vemos lucir…"

The soothing sound of Antonio's voice was what finally lulled Lovino into slumber. He dreamed again, but this time he dreamed of rolling green hills and the brilliant colors of spring…ripe, red tomatoes and the melodic strumming of Antonio's guitar. Antonio noticed him watching, and with a sunny smile that made him feel weak at the knees, he placed down his guitar and gathered him up in his arms. There was no doubt, hesitation or anger like in the waking world…he didn't fight the embrace nor the tender kiss that followed.

"Te amo, Lovino."

"Anche io ti amo."