AN/ High-school sequel to A child's first love because Shadowcatxx asked for it. She now owes me her soul. :)
That being said, you don't really need to have read A child's first love to understand this one, though I'd recommend it for some context (and because it's fucking adorable, if I can say so myself).
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Hetalia.
A TEEN'S FIRST KISS
Lovino had a crush on Antonio.
It wasn't a secret, not really. His family knew; Francis and Gilbert knew; Antonio's family knew. Probably all the students in their high-school knew; maybe even half of the teachers. Sometimes, Lovino was certain that the entire town knew.
The only one who didn't know was Antonio.
Because he was a clueless moron.
And Lovino didn't plan to tell him. He considered himself fortunate enough to have Antonio as his best friend — even if he had to share the title of Antonio's best friend with two other idiots — and didn't want to lose that. Ever. He wouldn't risk their beautiful friendship over a silly little crush.
A silly little crush that was only a couple of hours younger than their beautiful friendship.
Fate is a bitch.
~{x}~
"Now," Lovino sighed, "after those calculations, we can conclude that the limit as x goes to infinity is…?"
Antonio blinked, his eyes scanning the paper in front of him. "Infinity?" he finally said.
"Zero."
"Oh. But I thought—oh. But—ugh." He slammed his face on the desk. "I don't get it, Lovi," he whined. "I was good at math until letters had a midlife crisis and decided to become numbers."
"You weren't good even then," Lovino replied mercilessly. "Hey, come on," he patted his shoulder as a show of support and trust. "You can do it. I'll explain it again. You've already made it this far!"
"Only because I had you here," Antonio mumbled, downcast. "If it weren't for you, I'd have failed every single course."
Lovino blushed, flattered and embarrassed at the same time. "Well, I'm still here. So don't give up that easily, idiot."
Antonio smiled weakly at him.
"Okay."
Lovino knew he'd understand it, eventually. After having been tutoring him for years, Antonio's brain wasn't a mystery for him: his friend wasn't stupid, he just needed more time to grasp his mind around abstract concepts. And Lovino was willing to sacrifice all his afternoons, if necessary.
It was worth it just to see Antonio's bright smile once he finally got it.
~{x}~
Antonio was in detention — again. His sense of social justice had only grown with the years, and he had the terrible habit of talking back to teachers when he believed they were being mean, disrespectful or downright assholes with the students. That, of course, had cost him countless hours of extra work, detention, and letters to his parents, but Antonio had already stated he wasn't going to stop.
In a way, Lovino admired him for that. And he also thought Antonio was an idiot.
Maybe his main problem with Antonio playing the role of the class' Social Justice Warrior™ was that, when his idiot was in detention, he was left alone with the other two idiots. And, unlike his idiot, who was a nice idiot, those two idiots were mean idiots.
"So, Lovino, Lovinito, Lovi-lovi-nito," Francis purred, throwing an arm around Lovino's shoulder and pulling him close, "when do you plan to confess to our oblivious Toni, hmm?"
Lovino glared at him and tried to pry free from his grip; however, Gilbert appeared from the other side, mimicking Francis' action and sandwiching Lovino between the two of them.
"You're running out of time, you know?" he said. "Or do you plan to tell him when you're on the other end of the country?"
"I don't plan to tell him at all," Lovino growled, squirming in a failed attempt at escaping. "Not now, nor ever."
"Wow, your fear of rejection is stronger than I thought."
"Not everyone is like you, Francis. Now—let me go!"
Francis and Gilbert's attempts at playing matchmakers had been growing increasingly annoying in the last few months. They had never been Lovino's favourite people (in fact, they were close to leading his black list), but, as he pushed them and walked away, fuming, he was certain he had never hated anyone else more than he hated them.
Then again, they had good intentions, he knew it. There were few people who cared for Antonio more than those two; and, deep inside, Lovino knew they cared for him, too.
But they were still annoying idiots, and Lovino would die before listening to their advice.
~{x}~
Sat on the swing, Lovino listened absentmindedly to Antonio as he ranted about how unfair his time in detention had been. His friend was on the swing next to him, straddling it rather than sitting on it, and his hands were grasped so tightly around the chains that Lovino feared Antonio was picturing the neck of a certain teacher.
"But whatever. He's an idiot," Antonio finished his rant, and his frown was instantly replaced by his usual carefree smile. "So how was your day?"
They did that often. The park was near both their houses, so their parents had never minded too much if they met there late in the evening, and it soon had become their favourite meeting point. They liked to sit on the swings and chat; in summer, napping in the grass at the shade of a tree was Antonio's favourite pastime. Lovino treasured every moment they spent together in that park, away from everything. He wouldn't change them for anything.
Anything.
He bit his lip and looked down. "I finally did it," he muttered.
"You did it?" Antonio's eyes opened wide and an incredulous smile appeared on his face. "Lovi, that's great!"
"Yeah, I guess…"
"You applied to one of the best universities in the country—that's so brave! You don't fear rejection, do you?" he laughed.
"Pft." Lovino blushed and looked away. If only Antonio knew…
"Oh, come on, Lovi. You shouldn't be afraid. I'm certain that you'll be accepted."
"… you really think so?"
"Of course! You're the cleverest person I know!" His smile faltered. "Although…"
"What?"
"Nothing."
"What?"
"It's just that…" Antonio sighed. "I want you to go to that super cool uni, and become smarter and smarter until you're the best mathematician in the world and you win the Nobel—"
"There's no Nobel Prize of Mathematics."
"—but at the same time, I want you to stay here with me. That uni is very far away. I'll miss you a lot," he finished with a sad smile.
Stupid Antonio and his stupid honesty that never failed to make Lovino blush from head to toes.
"I'll miss you, too," Lovino mumbled, embarrassed. "H-Hey, what if," he cleared his throat, "what if you come with me?" he asked spontaneously.
"What?"
"If you'll miss me, and I'll miss you, just come with me. We won't miss each other if we're together."
Antonio let out an incredulous chuckle. "Go with you? To Smart People University? Lovi, you remember who you're talking to, right?" He ran a hand through his messy hair. "I'm not clever like you and Gil. Not even sensitive like Francis. Really, I'm just a big dumbass."
"That's not true."
"It isn't?" Antonio snorted. "Come on, you know everyone thinks so. I'm totally worthless."
"That's not true!" Lovino snapped, standing up. "You're not good at math; so what? That doesn't mean anything! You—You have many other strengths, and you're definitely not worthless. You are brave and kind and selfless and—and you make everyone around you happy without barely trying. In fact, it's a good thing that you suck at math, because otherwise you'd be so fucking flawless it'd be irritating!"
Taken aback by Lovino's sudden outburst, Antonio just stared at him, green eyes wide open, mouth agape.
"I'm shy. I'm socially awkward. I'm a fucking mess," Lovino went on, though a little calmer. "But you've helped me through all of that in the same way I've helped you through math. You are not worthless, Toni. And whoever says you are is blind as fuck."
His rant finished, Lovino sat again on the swing. Silence engulfed for a few minutes, what took Antonio to process everything, and then he broke it:
"Lovi."
"Yes?"
"Thanks. I'm really, really going to miss you."
~{x}~
Antonio's older brother opened the door. Lovino didn't quite like him: in true big brother fashion, he loved annoying the crap out of Antonio, and his pranks often included whichever friend happened to be nearby. Considering how much time Lovino spent at the Fernández Carriedo household tutoring Antonio, he had suffered it a lot.
"Hi, João," he greeted. "Is Antonio home?"
"Yes, he's expecting you."
"Cool." Lovino moved forward, but João remained still where he was and didn't let him through. "What?" he frowned.
"I'll let you in with one condition."
"… What condition?" he asked, wary.
João leant forwards, until his face was merely inches away from Lovino's, and whispered: "I want you to confess to my idiotic little brother."
"What?!"
"You heard me. I think you've hidden it enough. If you don't tell him now, you'll regret it."
"Oh yes? How do you know that?"
"Because," he smirked that smirk of his that didn't mean good news, "if you don't tell Antonio today, I will."
"Tell me what?"
…
Oh fuck.
Antonio appeared out of nowhere behind his brother, smiling as brightly as usual, and waved at Lovino. João smirked like the evil, evil bastard he was and turned to his brother:
"Lovino has something very important to tell you," he said.
"Oh really?" Antonio frowned. "How come you know it and I don't?"
"I know everything, Antontao."
"You promised Mum you wouldn't call me that again!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," João waved his hand around nonchalantly.
Pouting madly, Antonio punched his brother on the shoulder before grabbing Lovino's hand and dragging him to his bedroom. Before disappearing upstairs, Lovino made sure to glare at João and give him the middle finger while mouthing I will end you.
But, before murdering that bastard, he first had to deal with the idiot.
"I hate your brother," he said once they entered Antonio's bedroom.
"Same," Antonio replied. He sat heavily on the bed and sighed. "Hey, Lovi, before you tell me whatever it is you have to tell me that for some reason my brother knows about and I don't," he paused for breath, "I-I've something I'd like to tell you, too."
"Oh?" Lovino's heart skipped a beat. "W-What is it?" he asked, sitting on the bed beside his friend.
"Well, I've been thinking about what you said the other day in the park and… Um, well, I kinda want to go with you when you go to uni."
Lovino's jaw dropped.
"You what?"
"I mean, I'm not actually going to go to uni," Antonio went on, smiling. "I thought that maybe we could live together, you know, as flatmates, and then you'd go to uni and I… Would find a job, or take different courses, or… Whatever, something'll come up. I still haven't completely developed the idea," he laughed. "But anyway, what do you think?"
Antonio had to be the biggest dork Lovino has ever met.
"I think it's great," he managed to say once the initial shock passed. "I'd love to be flatmates with you."
"I know, right? Just you and me… No annoying siblings…" he sighed, content. "Ah! Now's your turn — what was it that you had to tell me?"
…
Oh fuck.
"Yes, um…"
Think think think think think think think—
"I wanted to tell you that, um, that I…"
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck—
"I am, eh, I'm gay."
Wait, what?
Embarrassed, Lovino turned beet red. He couldn't believe what he had just said. It wasn't a lie, technically, but neither was it what he was supposed to say. At least, if anything, it'd serve to bring up the topic, see how Antonio reacted to it.
"Really?" Antonio raised an eyebrow. "Huh."
"A-Are you okay with it."
"Sure."
"… do you still want to be my flatmate?"
"Of course!" He pursed his lips. "I'm just a bit upset that João knew before me."
Lovino shrugged. "He has a better gaydar than you," he teased.
"Must be that," Antonio chuckled. "So. You like guys, eh?"
"Yeah. Well," he corrected, "I know I like a guy."
"Oh? Who is he? Does he know?"
"He doesn't know," Lovino answered, carefully avoiding the first question. "And I'm a bit scared of telling him, because I don't know how he'll take it."
"Hmm…" Thoughtful, Antonio tapped a finger against his chin. "Maybe you could do something very flashy and romantic."
"Reminder that you're talking to Lovino, not to Francis."
"Okay, okay," Antonio laughed. "Then… I don't know, you can go for a very cheesy, movie-like move and steal a kiss from him. Like, you wait until you're alone, and he doesn't expect it, and then—"
He was abruptly cut by Lovino's lips on his own. It was clumsy and inexperienced, and so, so unexpected that Antonio froze out of sheer shock for a couple of seconds.
And then he abruptly pulled apart.
"Lovi!" he exclaimed in a scandalized voice.
"I-I-I'm sorry!" Lovino yelped, his whole face reddening madly as he realized what he had just done.
"I didn't say you could practice with me!"
"I'm—wait, what?"
"Seriously, Lovi," Antonio crossed his arms, frowning, "how do you think your guy will feel if he finds out you've kissed me first?"
"Oh my God," Lovino cried, dropping his face into his hands. "Oh my God, you fucking moron."
"Not that the timing was bad or anything, but you should think more before you act."
"Toni…"
"I mean, you can't just—"
"Toni, it's you."
"—go ahead and—What?"
"It's you," Lovino repeated, softer this time, and glanced sideways at his shocked friend. "I like you."
Antonio's jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide. Speechless, he raised a hand and pointed at himself; Lovino nodded and looked away.
"Wow. I mean… wow. Since when?"
Lovino shrugged. "Since forever," he mumbled.
"Wow," Antonio repeated before falling completely silent. 'Since forever' was a long time. They had known each other for what, eight years? Nine? That was a lot of time to be crushing after someone. He chuckled.
"What?"
"No, I was just thinking that… This explains a lot," Antonio answered in between chuckles. "I was starting to think, I don't know, that you had the emotional capabilities of an amoeba, since, you know, you'd never shown interest in anyone."
"I'll have you know, that's called asexuality and it's a perfectly valid orientation," Lovino replied, stubbornly refusing to look at him. "But, um, yeah. I've never been interested in anyone else. It's always been you."
"Wow," Antonio said for the fourth time. "So that just now was your first kiss."
Lovino blushed and hid behind his hands again, which only made Antonio laugh some more.
"I could tell."
"… was it bad?"
"Bad? It was lousy!"
Lovino whined and raised his knees to bury his face between his legs, curling up as if to feel safer. But all his walls came crumbling down when he felt Antonio's hand on his shoulder.
"That kiss was terrible. I think you should give me another one."
At that point, Lovino was torn between doing that and punching him in the face. Honestly, the bastard had it coming. Slowly, he moved his face away from his legs and turned his head to look at Antonio, who was flashing a mischievous smile at him but couldn't hide the sweetness in his eyes.
"You—You are…" he growled, unsure of how to finish that statement. A bastard, an idiot, a moron, a stupid asshole.
"Adorable?" Antonio offered, his smile widening.
That worked, too.
Instead of answering, Lovino took Antonio's face with his hands and kissed him again. This time prepared, Antonio kissed back.
~{x}~
Group chat: Musketeers
Toni: GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS OMG
Toni: YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED
Toni: LOVI CAME BY THIS AFTERNOON FOR TUTORING AND HE TOLD ME HE'S HAD A CRUSH ON ME SINCE FOREVER
Toni: LITERAL WORDS
Francis: well it was about time
Gil: fucking finally!
Toni: …
Toni: you guys knew?
Gil: everyone knew
Gil: except for you
Gil: cause you're so fucking oblivious
Toni: =_=
Francis: oh, but come on, don't leave us like that!
Francis: what happened after he confessed?
Toni: hehe
Toni: we kissed *3*
Francis: mon Dieu‼
Gil: whooooooo!
Francis: do I hear wedding bells? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Toni: idk
Toni: yes
Toni: maybe
Toni: we'll see
AN/ "Antontao" is a blend of the words "Antonio" and "atonato", which is Spanish for "dummy", and my new headcanon is that it's been Portugal's nickname for Spain for ages. (Spain doesn't like it. :P)
Thanks for reading; hope you liked it! Review? :D