A/N: I've been on ffn for a bit, but this chapter took so long so I haven't written anything else ;; ah
enjoy
xoxoxo
"Pretty please, Lovi? I promise you'll love it! C'mon!"
A tinny, pleading voice reached the ears of one Lovino Vargas as he was scrolling through his notes for his upcoming test.
Lovino growled, clamping his hands over his ears to block out the pleas of his younger brother Feliciano. He kept his eyes trained on his phone, which was balanced precariously on his lap.
"Shut up, will you? I'm trying to focus!" he ground out, looking up to shoot a glare at Feliciano.
Bad idea. One glance of Feliciano's watery eyes and pleading face broke his resolve almost immediately. Trying to defy his fate, Lovino moved his hands from his ears to his eyes, but he knew that he had already lost. Feliciano was a force to be reckoned with.
He sighed, dropping his hands from his face to turn his phone off.
"Fine. But just this once. Don't think you've won, idiot." Lovino said, his ever-present frown deepening. He stood up from the faded leather couch and stuffed his phone into his back pocket, just in case the need for studying arose.
Feliciano squealed with glee, bobbing his head enthusiastically. He looked ready to explode as he latched onto Lovino's arm, dragging the elder towards the front door.
"Jeez, Feli, calm down! Let go of me! Ow! That hurts, cazzo!" Lovino yelled, pawing frantically at his brother's iron grip.
"I can't help it, fratello, I'm just really happy that you decided to come! I'll show you everything! The park is really, really great!"
"It better be."
All week, Feliciano had been trying to convince Lovino to accompany him to the new park just out of town. He continually gushed over the beautiful greenery and adorable squirrels, (At that point, Lovino had gone on a rant about how all squirrels looked ugly, no matter where they were.) and especially the 'scary nice man with the big hands'. Lovino discreetly wondered when his brother had become so weird.
After he slid into his shoes while being manhandled out of the house, the two began their journey to the park.
The brothers walked down the sidewalk together. As always, Feliciano chattered about nothing in particular, completely overcome with excitement that Lovino was coming with him.
Lovino wasn't even close to being as enthused as the younger was, complaining about the heat and that his feet hurt, despite only being outside for the lesser half of a minute.
It wasn't even particularly hot or sunny - probably the best weather they'd had since forever. That didn't stop Lovino from complaining about sunburn and how he could die of heat stroke. Feliciano ignored him effortlessly: one of the skills gained from living with a griping machine.
About halfway to the park - as eagerly pointed out by Feliciano - Lovino stopped his grousing and wrenched his arm out of his brother's grip. Feliciano had been cutting off circulation to the poor limb, and it was rather numb by then.
Well, that was what Lovino had shouted out loud in exasperation, rubbing furiously at his arm to get the blood flowing again. In actuality, though, he wanted to make a good impression on any pretty lady who happened to be at the park. If he was bodily dragged into the park, that might decrease the chances of any girls approaching him, as they might think he was insane.
So Lovino put his sexiest swagger into use, swaying his hips like a model. (He had practiced this many times in his full-length mirror, winking at himself and discovering which faces looked the coolest.)
He could hear Feliciano's barely-concealed snickers. Ears quickly turning red with embarrassment, Lovino glared at his younger brother.
"Shut up!" he growled.
Feliciano had the decency to look somewhat sheepish, before speaking up in his own defense. "But Lovi, I didn't even say anythi-"
"Now you are, so shut up!" Lovino interrupted. With all the anger he was releasing, his footsteps had quickened, and his sashay had become more of an infuriated march, leaving his brother further and further behind.
Feliciano let out a squeak, finally silencing and scurrying forward to catch up to the elder.
There was a brief pause, in which Lovino calmed down enough to walk normally and feel a bit bad about how he had treated his brother. He cleared his throat.
"Um... Well... Feli, what's the park called again?" he said tentatively.
Feliciano visibly brightened and let out a happy squeal. "Ooh, ooh! It's some Spanish phrase! Like! Y'know! Oh yeah! Centro de Reunión! It means, like, 'place of meeting' or something! Isn't that cool?! Like, and there's people from so many cultures and stuff, and it's really, really friendly! And-"
By then, Lovino had tuned his younger brother's jibbering out, letting it drone in the background. Living with Feliciano for so long had given him that skill, which came to great use in boring classes. Especially History. What a bore.
Feeling annoyance at the class boiling up in the pit of his stomach, Lovino looked ahead and noticed a lake that had not been there before. "Is that it?" he pointed to the body of water a ways away, interrupting Feliciano's monologue.
Feliciano's gaze followed the invisible line Lovino's finger led to the lake. His eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Yeah! That's it - one of the three lakes that's in the park! It's man-made, but the water is natural! It's from the river!"
Lovino nodded flippantly. That was how most of his conversations with Feliciano went - he would start them with a random comment, and Feliciano would enthusiastically answer, getting off-track and jibbering about nonsense until Lovino found another topic that piqued his interest. It was a strange way, but it worked for them.
They passed through the Victorian gates on the outside of the park. (Later, Lovino would wonder why a park with a Spanish name had fucking Victorian gates.)
As he glanced around, he inwardly agreed with Feliciano's comments on the beautiful greenery. It was stunning, with neatly trimmed grass that looked perfect for lounging in, and a variety of different sized trees growing larger as they led towards the center of the park, where a huge tree stood in the middle of a field with all sorts of colorful flowers.
As Feliciano had pointed out, there was also three lakes evenly centered around the giant tree, with a fountain and a quaint wooden bridge in each of them.
Lovino deducted that it was a rather pleasant park all in all. Not that he would admit it to Feliciano - Lovino hated that 'I told you so' look that Feliciano had when he was right. Instead, he merely grunted his approval and set off down the central footpath from the entrance, towards the large tree.
Lovino could feel Feliciano's grin as the younger followed on his heels, skipping merrily. After a second, though, Feliciano seemed to remember something, as he snapped straight with a small gasp.
"Oh! Lovi! Sorry I can't show you around, but Ludwig - y'know, the nice, shy man - told me to meet him at Lake Europa! So... Will you be okay?" he asked nervously, twiddling his thumbs somewhat guiltily.
Lovino sighed, canceling the thank-you that he had been thinking of saying to his brother. How rude.
Nonetheless, he replied with a brief grunt of affirmation.
"Thank you Lovi! You're the best!" Feliciano trilled, dashing away before Lovino could bask in the compliment.
Lovino heaved another sigh and continued towards the tree. He supposed he could wait there, check out any pretty girls, all that jazz. It seemed a good idea as any.
Lovino pulled out his phone as he walked, scrolling through his notes. They weren't very precise - he would have to ask Bella for hers. What a pain. But then, if he passed the test, he would be one step closer to being accepted into a good school.
That was enough motivation to keep him from putting thumbtacks on his teachers' chairs, at least. Getting into a good school meant he could study medicine, and if he did that, then nonno-
Nonno could be cured.
He puffed out his chest in determination...
And promptly ran smack into someone else.
Lovino stumbled back, dropping his phone on the ground in surprise. The person he bumped into fell to the ground as well, letting out a slight hiss of pain.
Lovino barely noticed, too worried about his phone at the moment. He scrambled to pick up the device, checking furiously for any cracks. If it broke, he wouldn't have enough money for another one. After finding no problems, he turned to the other person with a glare.
"You bastard! You could've broken my fucking pho-" he trailed off when he finally noticed the predicament the other person was in.
A mass of curly brown hair covered the breathless face of a young man, about the same age as Lovino himself. The man was on the ground, slowly pushing himself to his feet. After wobbling once or twice, he raised his head and beamed at Lovino.
Lovino snorted and tucked his phone away. Probably one of those maniacs that hung around parks or something. Who in their right mind would smile after being knocked down?
Now that the man was standing up straight, Lovino had the absolute pleasure to study him. The man was tall(er than Lovino), lean, and well-built, if the half-sleeves clinging to his upper arms were anything to go by. (Who even wore half-sleeves anymore? Ew.)
And oh, that smile. It was blinding, breathtaking, beautiful. Lovino had never believed that a smile could be blinding, but now he did. Its brilliance could put the sun in a tizzy, for goodness sakes.
Not to forget the wide, green eyes that crinkled in the corners at the sheer force of the man's smile. They were a sight to behold. Lovino couldn't pinpoint the exact shade of green, but it reminded him of the tree that he and Feliciano used to climb in their youth, with its green, green leaves and sturdy, brown trunk that was almost the exact shade of brown as this man's hair.
(Looking back a few years later, Lovino would scoff at the very thought of comparing a man to a tree, tears springing to his eyes.)
The tree-man laughed airily, running a hand through his hair. "Ah! Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going! Are you okay...?" he paused, clearly looking for a name.
"I am, but my phone could've died, you asshole. Watch your step next time." Lovino said sharply. Tree-man wouldn't be getting a name from him.
"Ah, my apologies again, ha ha! I could pay for another one, but I think Gil would think it's a waste; I'll sneak it for you! Lud can keep quiet, I think, and-" the man stopped when he realized Lovino looking annoyed. "Sorry! I can't seem to stop talking, which might be because I want to get it all out before I-" he paused again. "Anyways, my name is Antonio! Antonio Fernández Carriedo! How about you?"
Lovino didn't answer, eyebrow raised alarmingly high.
Tree-man Antonio laughed, his hand unconsciously traveling through his mess of chocolate curls once more. "Well, I'll call you lindo, then! 'Cuz you're cute! Like Lud's cute little Shepherd!"
Lovino's face immediately flushed an alarming shade of red. Who in their right mind compared someone to a puppy? (He completely ignored the fact that he himself had compared someone to a tree.) "Shut the fuck up!"
"Yes, sir- oh sorry! That was an accident! I'm not very good at shutting up, unfortunately! Well, it could be fortunate if I was in a speech competition, I think, but we aren't in a speech competition right now, so- I'll just close my mouth now." Antonio said nervously, a small, still equally bright smile upon his face.
Distantly, Lovino was reminded of Feliciano. They were both annoying, in an endearing way, and both radiated the same 'adorable puppy' vibes that drew people to them. It was almost eerie how alike Feliciano and Antonio were, now that Lovino thought about it. He made a mental note to never introduce them to each other.
Outwardly, Lovino showed none of the deep thoughts he was having and only sighed. "My name's not 'Linda' or whatever your stupid name for me is. It's Lovino, for fuck's sakes."
Antonio smile went supernova. The thing literally ate up his entire face, and could probably blind someone from a mile away. Hell, it could probably cause droughts. "Lovino! What a beautiful name!"
Lovino could only clench his fists and curse his rapidly reddening face, mumbling, "What the fuck ever. Bastard."
Antonio, apparently feeling brave, pointed towards the huge tree at the end of the path. "So, Lovino, how about we walk to the tree togeth-"
"Fuck no. Finish that sentence and I swear I will castrate you."
"Eh? Please, Lovino? Just for a little bit?" Antonio flashed those tree leaf eyes of his, sticking out his lower lip in a pout. He looked ridiculous, but also like the hottest cute thing ever.
Lovino glared at that face, feeling quite a bit of déjà vu as he thought back to the events that brought him to the park itself.
Just like an hour ago, his resolve slipped. "Fine. But don't touch me with your perverted hands."
It was unfair. Even the biggest star couldn't go supernova twice, yet Antonio managed to do it. How could he even be human? Lovino couldn't take it.
Looking away, he hurried down the path, leaving Antonio to scramble after him with a yelp.
"Lovi, wait!"
Lovino walked faster.
xoxoxo
so um haha nothing really happens everything really relies on the next chapter sorry
but i would appreciate it if you left a review? please thank you