Translator's note:
First of all, I would like to thank 君安泽 on LOFTER for allowing me to translate and share this amazing piece of work. I apologize in advance for any mistranslation and butchering of the original _(:з」∠)_
The story contains teacher-student relationship, and there are some OCs in the story. Don't like, don't read.
THERE WILL BE SOME OCxCANON CHARACTER! IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT, DON'T READ!
Words from the original author (please read before commenting/continue reading):
对于认为文中人物OOC、渣而不喜欢此文的人们，很抱歉我的文让你们看到了这样的安东尼奥。安东尼奥这个角色属于日丸屋秀和，每一个爱他的粉丝都有资格评论和维护同人中的他的形象，对此我不会反驳什么。但相信我，在我心中他也不是一个这样的人，如果你们有耐心读到后半段（14章以后）就会发现这一点。如果你认为不值得读，那请你关闭窗口，忘了它然后去看其它更有趣的文。我英语不好，所以无法亲自对你说我很抱歉。这篇文是我三年前有关Spamano的处女作，尽管有很多人喜欢，但它也的确有太多缺点。如今的我已经有所进步，虽然无法向你们证明：这个作者不是只会产出这样的作品，但还是谢谢你们的意见和鞭挞。
再次感谢阅读
To those who dislike this work because you see the characters as OOC, I apologize for letting you see Antonio being portrayed like this. The character Antonio belongs to Himaruya Hidekaz; every fan who loves him has the right to protect and judge the way he is being portrayed in fanworks. I will not make objections to comments like this. But please believe me, the way Antonio has been portrayed in this work so far is not how I see him. If you have the patience to read to the second half (chapter 14 and beyond) you will find this to be true. If you do not think this work is worth reading, please close the tab, forget about this work and move on to read more enjoyable works. My English is not good; I am sorry that I cannot apologize personally. I wrote His Cat three years ago; it is my first work dedicated to Spamano. Although many people do like it, it is true that this work has many flaws. Right now, I have improved. Although I cannot prove to you that works like this one are not the only kind I produce, I greatly appreciate your opinions and criticism.
Thank you for reading again.
Lovino Vargas is in a classroom in the university he attends. He is sitting on a couch, which his teacher casually gave him the permission to do so.
He leans back, looking at the ceiling, then at the stack of papers on the coffee table in front of him. They are a bunch abandoned papers, questions with words he doesn't understand- nor does he care to- filled the paper. He is tired, maybe it's because he didn't take a siesta.
To be honest he is somewhat nervous, because right now in this room, he is alone with his teacher. His source of nervousness? The teacher, Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo himself.
Fernandez sits at his desk, too busy with something to pay attention to Lovino. A while later, he puts down his pen, turns to Lovino, and asks with a smile: "Want some coffee?"
"No," Lovino rejects. Fernandez picks up his porcelain mug, and takes a sip of the instant coffee. It has already cooled, but he doesn't mind.
"Second time meeting you, Lovino. Do you remember me?"
Although his tone is a joking one, it does not make Lovino feel any more at ease. It makes him think back to the embarrassing incident. The first time meeting Fernandez was at Lovino's house. When Lovino opened the door, he saw someone he didn't recognize, so he greeted Fernandez with a load of profanity (he thought the other was a salesman, ANND he was in a foul mood that day). Fernandez was there to look for Lovino, who gave the guy-his Spanish teacher for four months since third year of university- the label "a bastard I've never seen before".
"No need for that expression, I just want to have a chat with you." Fernandez senses Lovino's unease and gives a reassuring smile. Looking at Fernandez's smile of optimism, Lovino curses him internally. On the outside the guy seems easygoing, but on the inside? Pure evil. The first encounter gave Lovino enough experience. Although Fernandez's smile is sincere, that does not impress Lovino. I won't be fooled again, bastard! He thinks.
"Let's talk about the retest. That time when I went to your house trying to persuade you into coming for a retest, I was happy that you came as you promised. But..." Fernandez extracts Lovino's test paper, riddled with Spanish words, from the pile on the desk, "you just copied every question and put them as the answer?"
"I had no choice! I said that I don't know any Spanish, bastard..." His tone wavered from the toughness they had in the beginning. Lovino's face is slightly flushed. As someone who took Spanish for almost three years, he is not capable of even writing a complete sentence in Spanish.
And he is embarrassed about it.
"That bitch of a supervisor said I had to fucking finish it, so... I did that..."
He was in university for two and half years, but because he detests Spanish, he often skips the class. What he had learned from the beginning was forgotten little by little, so as time passed by, he fell to where he is now: having absolutely no knowledge of the language. Italian and Spanish are similar, and to Italians, Spanish is one of the easiest language to learn, but if one does not have the heart to learn, then god help his grades. Gradually, Lovino stopped going to Spanish-related classes because of the lack of interest. He did not show up for tests; test is something that brings him misery. If one does not know a language, there is no way to cover up and make the test paper look good.
And in his third year, Lovino never attended any of his Spanish classes, and that's why Fernandez had to look for him.
Things like retest does not interest Lovino. He gave up trying to redeem himself. But the arrival of Fernandez made him change his mind-or maybe it has forced him to. The supposed "persuasion" from Fernandez has him traumatized. The bastard is definitely a demon with a smile.
"You informed me of your situation, but I've never thought that it would be this bad," Fernandez laughs, and Lovino gives him a glare. What's so funny, jerk? He asks in his mind.
"Yet you still missed two classes after I have talked to you?"
"You just reminded me to go to the retest..." Lovino avoids Fernandez's eyes, defending himself quietly.
Fernandez looks at him with a smile, but that smile makes his skin crawl. Lovino bursts out, "Don't give me that look, you bastard."
"Is this how you always talk to your teacher?"
"It's your fault! Making that face... I won't be able to sleep tonight... Hey! Wh-h-at are you doing? Don't come closer... bastard..." before he can finish, he sees Fernandez stand up, walking towards him. Instinctively Lovino shrinks into the couch, peering at Fernandez with a dirty look. But Fernandez just places a piece of paper on the coffee table.
"Fill this out."
"What's this?" Lovino lowers his head to look at the content of the sheet. When he sees that it's a form for course retake, he is shocked. "I don't want to!" He rejects without hesitation.
"Why? You have no choice but to retake the course. You've never even passed this course. If you can't get the credit, you can't graduate."
"I will go the the next test! I just need to pass the damn thing, right?!" says Lovino. It's just a test and, there are always ways to cheat...
"Nope," Fernandez says, as if he read Lovino's thoughts, "it's better if you retake the course."
"Definitely no!" Not only that he doesn't want to be in a class with younger students, furthermore, retaking the course costs way too much money. His brother Feliciano's fee for going to a private art school is already an immense expense. The loan is a heavy burden. Plus in twenty-something days Feliciano will go to Germany as an exchange student. Lovino is doing everything he can to avoid unnecessary expenses. "Stop being so meddlesome!" Lovino says to Fernandez.
"But I'm your teacher."
"What university teacher is as nosy as you? Isn't everyone passing all you need to care about?" Lovino says impatiently. "Also, hadn't time for reapplication passed already?"
"I'll deal with that. If you don't go, what are you going to do about this?" Fernandez waves the attendance around. "Lovino, for all of my classes you have a X for attendance. If you get another 0, you will fail. It ends the same way: you have to go to class again."
"Eh!" Lovino is surprised. He has almost forgotten about that.
"If you retake, I will not report this. Also, you cannot ditch class and you have to pass the tests." Fernandez says with what Lovino considers a shit-eating grin.
"Fucker..." Dammit, is that a threat? Without thinking one would know which one is more serious: expulsion versus taking the course again. Is there a more thoughtful threat than this? "Damn... If I agree, you can't rat me out." Lovino mutters while glaring at Fernandez.
"Deal." Fernandez agrees.
Lovino completes the form and signs it, then Fernandez fills in the teacher's comment.
"Thanks, I'll submit it for you."
"If there's nothing else, then ciao, bastard."
"Hm. See you later."
I don't want to see you again at all. Lovino walks out the classroom sulkily. Maybe he needs to tell his brother that this month they are short of money, that it's time to tighten their belts, and say bye to the meat in their pasta. This sucks, and it's all that bastard of a teacher's fault!
When he leaves the school, Lovino doesn't go home directly. He goes to a park near his house. He finds Feliciano there.
Lovino sits on the edge of the flower bed with his arms crossed. Feliciano has set up an easel for drawing portraits. Whenever Feliciano has time, he will come to the park to do this. He doesn't charge a lot for a drawing, but the cost of the coloured ones is double of the black-and-white ones. Sometimes he charges pretty girls nothing. Feliciano is in university for design, since he is an expert at art. Maybe it's the genetics, of how he is similar to their grandfather in this field. But that gene seems to have skipped Lovino.
Their identical faces bring them a lot of customers, because the passers-by would always throw intrigued looks their way. They are a pair of very handsome twins. Whenever a beautiful lady comes by, Lovino is put to use (and why he comes is that he gets to talk with pretty girls). He would say to the girl:
"Watch how your eyes are, please look in my way. Like that, with more emotions. That way the drawing would be more vivid."
So every bella Feliciano draws, they all look to the right. A few have a mist of red on their cheeks. Feliciano can do nothing about his brother's stupid behaviour. If he tries to say anything, Lovino will give him an earful. If he isn't so lucky, he will get a "tornado of Napoli" from Lovino.
But today Lovino looks like he has a lot on his mind. He is not as into flirting with the girls as he usually is. When the sun sets, Feliciano packs up to get ready for going home. They walk through a path in the woods on their way home.
"Hey, big brother, my drawing won another award. The prize money is quite a decent amount." Feliciano says.
Lovino lifts his head. The word prize money caught his attention. "How much?"
"Enough for next month's rent. This month we can relax a bit more!"
"Relax, my ass! Save the money!"
"Ve…"
"It's all because you are fucking going to Germany next month! How much do you think we have left!" He knows Feliciano is very interested in Germany and has always wanted to visit. He finally got the chance to be an exchange student, and he didn't let the chance slip.
"But... without the prize money, we would have just enough money for this month, right? So... "
Lovino becomes momentarily silent, then he tells Feliciano about him retaking the course, and how he has to pay that extra money. His head is lowered and he is kicking the pebbles under his feet. Then he hears Feliciano's light laugh. He looks up to Feliciano's direction.
"Then I had won this money just on time."
"Feliciano..." Lovino whispers. Looking at his brother's care-free smile makes him feel guilty. He can't do anything right. He always does something that makes him a burden. Although his idiot brother always get in trouble, and the two together are like a trouble-causing machine, but he has to admit that right now, his brother is way more admirable and talented than he is.
They walk back to the street they live on slowly. It is an old street. Although it is narrow, it is clean and possesses a special charm. The light gray brick houses on the sides are no taller than three storeys; they have a tranquil and timeless beauty about them. Many houses have flowers in front of their doors and on their windowsills. Green plants climb the walls like a ladder, vines from the flower pots on the second floor drape down like a curtain. The sea of emerald is bejeweled with tender red flowers here and there. It is like a heavenly scene on a medieval scroll.
They live on the second floor of one of the houses, it's their home. They call it home although it is rented, because the university is short of dormitories; many students have to live off-campus like them. On their windowsills there are also flowers, and Feliciano takes good care of them. Feliciano is a little wimp who can't take care of himself properly, but under his hands, the beautiful flowers bloom with life.
They get in the house, Feliciano puts his stuff back in his studio. The "studio" is originally his bedroom, but he has too many things that they clutter the space. On the floor there is an array of designing tools, fabrics, paint, easels, and other things. Sometimes his workspace gets so small that he has to draw in the dining room. Feliciano's bed is already full of tools, and he sleeps in Lovino's narrow wooden bed for this reason. Of course Lovino is unwilling, but Feliciano is like a piece of duct tape, clinging onto him and crying even if he has kicked him out. In the end, Lovino has no choice but to let Feliciano stay.
Feliciano is preparing to draw at the table, he is making illustrations for a magazine. That is one way he earns money. Lovino is changing, he has an interview for his job, which is dancing at a nightclub.
Two years ago he had the same occupation, because the job is easy, and every dancer just has to perform two to three songs a night. Although it's an effortless job, there are some unbearable things about it. He hates it when men look at him with lustful eyes, but of course he doesn't mind when the girls do that to him. The girls liked him a lot; they found him to be quite cute, and they thought that he's good dancer. Handsome and innocent boys like him are always likable. But some men would do inappropriate things to him, and that's why he occasionally got into fights with male customers. The first time he worked he stayed for only two weeks, because a man tried to get into his pants. Lovino declined the offer, but the man bribed his boss, and as a result Lovino was almost raped. Naturally Lovino hasn't told Feliciano of the real reason to why he quit the job. He still gets nauseous thinking about that incident.
But that incident doesn't stop Lovino from finding similar jobs, because dancing is the only thing he can do well. If he doesn't work they will be homeless by the next month. He is fired from his previous job because he toppled over a shelf, and all of his salary has went to paying for the damage. Another reason why he chooses the job is because this club pays their workers weekly with a decent sum. If he can't stand the job, he is free to leave after his first paycheck.
His female friend Rose has recommended him this job, as she works there. The club is fairly popular, and has high standards for their workers. Rose promised their boss that Lovino is an excellent dancer, and that's why Lovino got this opportunity. After contacting the club and settled the time for meeting with Rose, Rose offers to take him there. Before Lovino leaves, Feliciano says he will wait for him for dinner.
Lovino and Rose arrive at the place near the bustling part of the city. It on the second floor of a large building. He tells the bouncer about his reason here, after the bouncer confirms it with the manager, they are let in for free. Upon entering, Lovino discovers that the club is spacious, compared to the cramped chaos of most nightclubs, this place is clearly more high-class, as one can tell from the exquisite and lavish decor. No wonder it's a popular place. But because the sky is just starting to darken, not many people are there.
Lovino notices that there are warning lines surrounding the stage. Rose says security guards sometimes patrol near the stage, because sometimes a drunk or crazy customer would climb onto the stage and cause a ruckus.
Rose leads him to the back stage. Lovino peers into some rooms with curiosity as they pass by.
"These are dressing rooms and you can take breaks here. Every performer has their own room, even if they are a tad small... but that counts as five-star treatment, right? No many clubs can afford to do this. And oh, this big room is for warming up, and you are free to use that pile of clothes in that room over there."
"You seem to know this place well."
"Because I'm part of the backstage crew... Ah, here we are."
Stopping in front of a door, Rose knocks. When she hears the reply come through the door, she opens it.
"You're here," there is a man in his thirties in the room. "Right on time."
"This is Mr. Bevis, the manger of this department. Here's Lovino, the guy I recommended."
"Hello," Bevis nods at Lovino."
"Um...hi."
"Let's cut the small talk. Do you have previous experiences of performing in places like this?"
"I do, but not a lot."
"How much is not a lot?"
"I quit after two months."
"Pardon me, but why did you quit? I want to know this because we want full time workers."
"Because of school. I had a lot of work that semester. Working too late affects me going to class the next morning, so I got another job." Lovino makes up the story, suppressing his vulgar vocabulary.
"Are you still in school?"
"Yes, but that does not affect me working, because most of the time I sleep till noon."
"Okay. Now can you please perform a bit for me, I'll get the music."
Lovino takes off his jacket. He is wearing a tank top underneath. He is muscled, but he isn't buff or anything. His slim muscles from long-term dance training make his skin look taut. When music flows out from the speaker, he sways to the beat. Dancing is as natural as breathing to him, as he was a professional. All of his three teacher in the past considered him a prodigy.
Bevis is full of admiration. After the end of a song, he claps.
"Wonderful! You gave a nice suggestion, Rose!"
"Of course! I told you Little Lovi would be amazing!"
"Very well, I'll give you two weeks of probation. During probation you will receive no salary, but you will get seventy percent of on-stage tips. Any money you get off-stage is yours to keep. You will start working this Saturday, and you're scheduled to perform after ten-thirty every night. Is that alright?"
"Isn't two weeks too long?" Two weeks of zero salary.
"You will become a formal employee early if you do an exceptional job. In fact, most of the workers leave on the first week of probation, because whether they stay or not depends on how much tips they get. If you want to earn money or stay, you better come up with ideas to keep the customers entertained." Bevis says, his words speaking volumes.
What he implies repulses Lovino a little. Lovino gets what he means. But dancing and keeping company with girls are all Lovino can do. Of course he will keep his complaints to himself. Right now a job that pays is a good job. He will just try his best to avoid what he can, if he fails, he will quit.
Lovino leaves the club and Rose stays to work. When he gets home, Feliciano has pasta made for him. Eating pasta is the most enjoyable thing about his day, because pasta makes him throw away his worries. After the meal, he takes a shower and then goes to sleep.
TN:
Lovino referring to Antonio by his last name plays an important role in the story, in case you're wondering.