"Hey! Antonio! How long do you plan on sleeping, you lazy jerk?" Lovino snarled.
"Mm… Lovinito…? What are you doing here?" Antonio mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Don't call me that," he snapped, blushing slightly.
"You look like a tomato," Antonio sat up, giving Lovino a kind smile.
"Shut up, you jerk," Lovino fumed, his face turning redder by the second.
"Well, if you came to talk, perhaps I should get some pants on first. You mind?" Antonio pointed toward the pair of slacks he'd left hanging over the chair in the corner.
"…" Lovino turned around and walked over to the chair. "Here," he picked up the pants and tossed them clear across the room, straight into Antonio's face.
Antonio kept smiling and proceeded to slip out of bed and pull on his pants. "You're still the same as ever," he remarked with a light laugh.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lovino glared.
"Oh, nothing, nothing," Antonio shook his head. After he had his pants on, he sat back down on the edge of his bed. "So what's on your mind, Lovinito?"
"I told you not to call me that," Lovino growled. "… It's about Feliciano."
"Mm? What about Felicianito? Is he alright?" Antonio blinked.
"He's fine," Lovino insisted. "I just can't stand to be around him anymore."
"Oh? Why not, Lovinito?"
"It's always Ludwig this and Ludwig that! He's always hanging around with Ludwig! And then he comes home reeking of Ludwig and blabbering on about how happy he is that Ludwig gave him some stupid cross!" Lovino sighed, "I got so frustrated that when he shoved it in my face that I threw it out the window. Then all he did for the rest of the night was cry about how angry Ludwig was going to be with him."
"What exactly is your problem with Ludwig, Lovinito? From what I've heard, he's been a really good friend for Felicianito. Is there something wrong with Felicianito having friends, Lovinito?" Antonio asked.
"He annoys me. I don't know why," Lovino sighed. "I'm surprised you're okay with this, though. I thought you'd be jealous. After all, Feliciano was always your favorite."
"I never said that," Antonio insisted. "And it's exactly because I care for Felicianito that I want him to make friends and be happy."
"I guess I'm just a horrible person, then," Lovino frowned.
"No, no, certainly not," Antonio insisted. "You're a good guy, Lovinito, and have been ever since you were little."
"Then why do I get so annoyed over the Ludwig thing?" Lovino argued.
"I don't know," Antonio responded. "But maybe you can't stand to see Felicianito so happy… because you're not happy."
"I am too happy!"
"Really now? You don't look it," Antonio responded. "Are you really, Lovinito?"
"I said don't call me that! Now shut up and leave me alone!" Lovino yelled.
"Lovinito…?"
"Tell me, Antonio," Lovino frowned. "You were disappointed when Roderich asked you to look after me, weren't you?"
"What? No, of course not," Antonio insisted.
"You wanted Feliciano. You were disappointed to get stuck with me, right?"
"I did want to take Felicianito," Antonio admitted, "but I wasn't disappointed to take care of you, Lovinito. I'm quite fond of the both of you."
"… Which of us do you like more, Antonio?"
"What's gotten into you, Lovinito?"
"I said don't call me that!" Lovino snapped. "It's him, isn't it?"
"Lovinito…"
"Of course it's him. It's always him. Everyone loves Feliciano…" Lovino sighed, finally flopping down on the chair beside him. "Nobody likes me. I'm just a spoiled brat."
Antonio felt a pang in his chest as he remembered using those same words to talk to Francis about Lovino. He had called Lovino a spoiled brat, albeit in a pleasant laughing sort of way, and now he felt awful for it. "… I'm really sorry, Lovinito."
"I told you not to—huh?"
"I'm sorry, Lovinito. The truth is that I did prefer Felicianito over you back then and I did call you a spoiled brat," Antonio admitted.
"So even the one who took care of me loves Feliciano more than me," Lovino said with a grim smirk. "I guess with the way I act, I never should have expected anything else."
"Don't jump to conclusions, Lovinito. Hear me out first," Antonio insisted. "I did like Felicianito more but as I watched you grow up, things changed. Lovinito, I love you and I always will."
"… Don't say it like that, stupid," Lovino said, blushing slightly.
"Your face is starting to look like a tomato again, Lovinito," Antonio teased. He got up and walked over to Lovino and then leaned down to hug him, placing a soft quick kiss on his forehead.
"Leave me alone, you jerk," Lovino frowned.
"Oh, Lovinito, you never change," Antonio laughed.
"Are you saying I'm still a spoiled brat?" Lovino glared.
"No, no, of course not, Lovinito," Antonio smiled. "And I hope you know now that you can always come to see me when you're troubled annoyed or frustrated."
"… Why are you always so nice to me?" Lovino asked.
"Because I love you," Antonio responded simply.
"… Dame un beso."
"Oh, you remember the Spanish I taught you! I'm proud of you, Lovinito," Antonio smiled.
"I meant it," Lovino looked up at him. "If you love me, dame."
"Whatever you want, Lovinito," Antonio kissed him on the cheek. "Oh, Lovinito, when did you get so big?"
"When you weren't paying attention, apparently," Lovino chuckled. "You still haven't given me an actual answer though – who do you love more?"
"Why does that matter so much to you, Lovinito?" Antonio asked.
"Because it just does," Lovino retorted.
"Well, then, I love you both the same," Antonio answered.
"The same?" Lovino repeated.
"Is there something wrong with that, Lovinito?"
"… No, I guess not," Lovino mumbled.
"Come now, Lovinito, tell me what's on your mind, eh?" Antonio prodded.
"It's nothing…"
"Lovinito…"
"I told you not to call me that," Lovino muttered. "… I was kind of hoping… that you liked me more than Feliciano…" He leaned his head back, closed his eyes and sighed. "Everyone out there prefers Feliciano over me… I was just hoping… that you'd be the one who preferred me…"
"Why me?" Antonio blinked.
"Because you're—just leave me alone, you jerk," Lovino growled.
"Lovinito, tell me," Antonio insisted.
"I said leave me alone."
"Dime, Lovinito."
"I wanted you to like me more… because you're… special…" Lovino blushed.
"… Was that meant to be a compliment or an insult?" Antonio questioned.
"You're important to me," Lovino clarified. "You mean as much to me as my own brother does… perhaps even more…"
"Lovinito, you'll make Felicianito cry if he ever hears you say I mean more to you than he does," Antonio cautioned.
"But you do," Lovino argued.
"Lovinito… you don't really mean that," Antonio insisted.
"I'm sorry for how rude I've always been to you," Lovino frowned slightly. "The truth is I was so desperate to cover my feelings up that I made it seem like I felt quite the opposite. Even as a kid, my feelings for you were really strong."
Antonio decided the best course of action at this point was to stay quiet and let Lovino say what he wanted to – nothing more and nothing less. He stood there beside Lovino, not saying a word, waiting for him to continue speaking.
"I think I'm in love with you, Antonio," Lovino finally broke the silence.
"Lovinito, you can't me--," Antonio started.
"Don't tell me I can't mean that because I've been trying to tell myself that for years and believe me – it just isn't true. I do love you, Antonio, and I do mean that," Lovino interrupted.
"… Maybe that's why you can't stand how happy Felicianito has gotten lately," Antonio cracked a smile. "He's had more than his fair share of loves… and I suspect Ludwig is slowly becoming his next one. Meanwhile, you've been keeping the only love you've ever had a secret and as such you haven't been able to achieve that kind of happiness for yourself. It's only natural that you'd be jealous."
"I didn't say you were my only," Lovino huffed. "And that wasn't exactly the proper way to respond to a love confession that was years in the making."
"Oh? I'm sorry, Lovinito, were you hoping for something more like this?" Antonio placed a hand under Lovino's chin, gently raised his head, and bent down to touch his lips to Lovino's. He went slowly, starting with just the lightest touch and moving toward a much firmer, more passionate kiss. He pulled away after a moment to let Lovino process what had just transpired.
"…I wasn't expecting that," Lovino admitted, his face burning bright red in embarrassment.
"You really do look just like a tomato right now, Lovinito," Antonio laughed, wrapping his arms around him gently.
"Way to kill the moment, Antonio," Lovino stared.
"I'm sorry," Antonio smiled, placing a soft apology kiss on Lovino's cheek. "Te quiero, Lovinito."
"Te quiero también…"
A/N: Spanish translations, in case you don't know Spanish and can't get it from the context clues...
Dame (un beso) - Give me (a kiss)
Dime - Tell me
Te quiero (también) - Has the literal meaning of I want you (too) but also means I love you (too)
Also, I have Antonio referring to the Vargas brothers as Lovinito and Felicianito. If you were wondering about the "ito" thing, it's a Spanish diminutive. Putting it at the end of someone's name is a show of affection. The clearest way I can think of to explain it to an anime fanbase is that it's loosely similar to him calling them Lovino-chan and Feliciano-chan. I figured Lovino seemed like the type to get annoyed at being called cute pet names.