Antonio was gone.
Antonio was gone.
Lovino awoke one morning to find the bed empty. Where was that Spaniard? Usually he would be found sleeping peacefully next to Italian but this wasn't the case.
Lovino lied still in the bed, trying to make out any noise in the house. On those rare occasions when Antonio got up early, he would be making some sort of commotion, whether it would be the clattering of pans when he was cooking or Antonio simply tripping over his own two feet because he was clumsy.
When Lovino couldn't sense any sounds coming within the house, he decided that he needed to get out of bed and check for himself. Maybe Antonio was playing a game on him. He wanted his Lovi to come look for him. He wanted his 'little tomate' to worry about him.
Lovino grumbled incoherent phrases and words as he slowly climbed out from the warmth of the bed. Slipping on some clothes, the Italian left the room and headed downstairs.
The first place Lovino choose to look was the kitchen. The Spaniard could always be found in the kitchen, it was one of his favorite rooms in the house after all.
Lovino entered a rather empty kitchen. Antonio obviously was not here. There wasn't even any sign of him being in here. No half-empty coffee pot, no dishes, no partially eaten tomato, nothing.
"Don't panic Lovino," The Italian tried to calm himself. "he could be in his study."
Antonio sometimes could be found in his study, writing papers and catching up on his work. Lovino wandered through the halls of the house, eventually coming to the door of the study.
Lovino listened for a moment, trying to make out any rustling of papers and, or any sign of Antonio being in there.
"Maybe the idiot is just being quiet. He probably knows I'm standing out here and he is just playing a trick on me. The bastard." Lovino huffed as he tried to reassure himself. But Lovino's fear of Antonio actually missing was slowly starting to take over.
His distress was confirmed when he gently opened the door and was met with complete silence. The room was completely untouched, not a single book, pen, or paper was out of place.
"Where the hell is that moron?"
Lovino left the study and proceeded to check every room in the house for Antonio, or even for evidence of the Spaniard. Lovino knew that most places he inspected he would most likely not find the male but he had to make sure anyway. For every place that Lovino checked that came up empty of evidence, his uneasiness only grew.
Lovino found himself back in the living room. After an hour of searching, he deemed the house to be completely vacant and Spaniard-free.
"Bastard! This isn't funny anymore," Lovino screamed into the knowingly empty house. "You better show yourself now or so help me.. you'll regret it Antonio!"
If anyone was listening, they would know that Lovino's words were lacking their usual fire. Instead, they were laced with worry and concern, a complete rarity for the usually feisty Italian. Questions about the Spaniard were starting to form in Lovino's head.
"Where could Antonio be? Why did he leave? When is he coming home? Was it something I did? Will he come back?"
Lovino shook his head as if he was trying to rid his mind of these foolish questions.
"Ridiculous. I didn't do shit.. Antonio is probably at the market and he just forgot to tell me he was going." Lovino snorted "The bastard.. he must have been in a rush, he didn't even bother to leave a note or something."
But Antonio always leaves little notes for him. Whether it would be to inform Lovino that he was going to visit his best friends, Francis and Gilbert, or simply the directions to reheat leftovers from dinner.
"There has to be a note somewhere.. but where?" Lovino questioned himself. He had searched every room high and low, and he hadn't found a single clue.
Realization struck Lovino hard. The main bedroom. Their bedroom.
Wanting to search the rest of the house, Lovino completely forgot the check their very own bedroom. That was most likely where Antonio would stick a note to inform Lovino that he was going out for a bit.
"Ugh.. I'm such an idiot!" he yelled at himself. "That is the most logical place to check in this whole goddamn house!" Lovino kept cursing himself as he scrambled up the stairs and down the hallway to his and Antonio's bedroom.
"Almost there..." Lovino thought as he sprinted down the hallway. Upon reaching the room, Lovino threw open the door and began searching for a note or anything from Antonio. As his eyes scanned the room, they caught a glimpse of something off to the side of the bed. Walking closer, Lovino noticed it was indeed a small piece of paper.
"I knew he would have left something for me." Lovino smirked victoriously as he reached down to pick up the small note.
Noticing the paper was slightly heavier than normal, almost as if there was something attached to it, other than some writing…
Flipping the paper over, Lovino gasped. Taped to the note was Antonio's gold band wedding ring. Letting his fingers slowly graze over the ring, more questions raced through Lovino's head.
"What.. is his ring doing on this note? W-why.. did he take it off?"
Tears began to prick at Lovino's eyes. "This has to be a joke.. it has to be." Tiny sobs threatened to come out of his mouth, but Lovino wouldn't let them.
Slowly lifting the note to his face again, Lovino noticed two words scribbled hastily next to the ring. He could hear Antonio's voice whispering those exact words in his ear as Lovino read them over and over again to himself.
"I'm sorry."
Scomparso is apparently Italian for missing, vanished, disappeared, etc.