Romano scoffed at his longtime friend and caretaker.

"Jackass, what are you even talking about?", he asked snidely. Antonio managed to give him a shy smile in return.

"I think you need to preoccupy yourself with something other than Veneciano's relationship with Ludwig," he restated, experimentally. Lovino's face almost immediately flushed with anger.

""If I don't stop that wurst lover from corrupting my stupid little brother, who WILL?! Obviously not you, dammit! la mia famiglia! Which doesn't seem to be penetrating your damned thick skull!", Romano exclaimed angrily in response. the Spaniard, used to much worse than his charge's hissy fits, flinched only internally at his words. How LONG had he been absolutely dedicated to this boy, who still wasn't catching onto his reasons why? Still, he steeled his exterior, even as his mind was beating on its walls. No reason to show Romano his weaknesses... A half-formed thought popped into his already distressed mind. Maybe...?

Antonio bit his lip, letting his tears of usually well masked sadness and frustration for the boy slip out and gather around his eyes until they grew heavy and fell. A small, well placed whimper and the younger boy was easily hooked, immediately showing his concern.

"Ah... Um... No reason to cry, jerk... I mean, after all, you're my family too, right?", another whimper was released as the words hit him, and Lovino went into a further flustered state.

"A-Antonio? Do you want to lay down? Are you not feeling well?", he asked, eyes widened in concern for a man he had rarely ever seen in a state like this, never this low... But then, that was what complete adoration for a total dunce did to someone, Antonio thought bitterly as he allowed Romano to lead him to his airy, sunlit room as if he were made of a very fine glass.

"Che diavolo ti preso?", Romano muttered to himself as after setting the older man onto his bed carefully. Antonio looked up to Lovino almost ripping out his own hair in frusteration and worry. He couldn't help but to let out a choked laugh at the sight, gaining him a dirty look from the Italian.

"I... I'm not...", Antonio tried, but failed utterly in lying to Lovino's absolutely concerned face. "I'm... lonely.", he said finally, proud to have found something not so far from the truth as to be considered a lie to himself. Lovino looked at him as curiosity passed his face.

"Lonely?", he asked, as if it were an absolutely foreign concept to him... which it very nearly was. There was little the younger man dedicated his time to but complaining, and his Spanish friend had always put up with him very well in that aspect... So if he were with him as often as he was, how could that leave any room what so ever for loneliness? And yet his friend still nodded, further confusing the younger, thickheaded nation.

"You're... always talking about your brother and how much you despise his boyfriend... And I feel... forgotten.", Antonio admitted, fully under pressure from Lovino's scrutinizing eyes. A light almost went off in Lovino's mind at those words, but almost proved to be not quite enough as he hugged his friend.

"Antonio... You should know damned well by now that I could never, ever forget you. Stupid ass.", he said with an enourmous flush on his face, but finality in his voice making the older nation's heart melt into something like a big happy pile of euphoric goo.

"Yeah...", he muttered into the other's hair. "I guess not. I'm just a little scared, is all." This statement made Lovino's head go up, looking into his friends eyes and not really noticing the closeness of the situation at hand.

"Lovi?", Spain asked in an obviously improved humour. The light flickered to life in Lovino's head, but he couldn't really find himself anything but happily braindead as his face willed itself closer to Antonio's, mixing their lips together before he had any kind of doubt and could deny that this was anything but pure, genuine feelings on his own part as well.

It was, oddly enough, Antonio that broke off almost immediately, absolutely in shock. He attempted to collect enough thought to ask Lovino what he was doing, but failed as the other brought him back again almost forcefully, grabbing his hair gently to disallow escape and lowered him down very slowly to the bed under them.


Standard disclaimer, this series and these characters aren't mine.