Crying was something foreign to Lovino.
Crying meant showing weakness, and Lovino couldn't afford that.
So when his parents' arguments got out of hand, he wouldn't cry. He would simply hold his younger brothers tightly and whisper soothingly to him.
When his parents divorced, he wouldn't cry. He just hugged his brothers goodbye with a promise of meeting again before taking his father's hand and leaving them both behind.
When his father began drinking and smoking, he wouldn't cry. He would simply wait until his father was sober or passed out, and then he would clean everything up and leave aspirin on the table next to him.
When his father began beating him, he wouldn't cry. He would stay quiet and not let even the smallest tear out. Sometimes he would plead for him to stop, but he never cried. Afterwards, he would clean himself up and go to bed.
When his father died in a drunken car accident, he wouldn't cry. He felt no remorse for that man. His brothers may have cried, but he didn't. He would just comfort his brothers like he did when they were children.
When his mother died and he had to care for his brother all on his own, he wouldn't cry. He very nearly did, but he didn't. His brothers saw that he was close to shedding tears, but not once did they fall.
Not even when he was broken down and tired and sick and couldn't do anything, he never once cried. To him, crying was for the weak. He wouldn't dare cry, if only to remain strong for his precious younger brothers. He made sure of that.
When he was in high school with his younger twin brother and their little brother was still in middle school, he met a boy named Antonio. Antonio was cheery, popular, a hit with the ladies, and so terribly, utterly, annoying. Lovino hated him when he first saw him, especially when he insisted on being his best friend.
Over time, Lovino grew attached to him. Every little secret and every little detail about his life was told to Antonio, and Antonio accepted it all. They were best friends, and later on, they became even more.
Until one day, that all changed. Antonio broke up with Lovino after a fight, and that was the end of that relationship. Antonio never told anyone anything about Lovino's life, and occasionally he would still tackle him in flying hugs, but they weren't as close and as perfect as they used to be.
Perhaps that hurt Lovino a little bit, but what really got to him was when Antonio got a girlfriend. Not even a boyfriend, but a girlfriend. Her name was Emma, and she was a beautiful Belgian exchange student. She and her brother, Lars, also happened to have been Lovino's childhood friends. This hurt more than anything else, but Lovino didn't tell Emma about his previous relationship, nor did he blame her.
So time went on. Lovino glared every time he saw Antonio, but if Emma was there, he'd greet her with a smile. He felt that pain in his chest every time he saw Antonio give Emma a loving kiss. He would support Emma through any hardship she went through with Antonio despite the past relationship he had with him and the feelings he still had for him.
Never once did he let tears slide down his cheeks.
I don't know why I started writing this. This just happened. This is going to be a two-shot, but I already have the second part written, so this will be complete. This is shorter than all the other stuff I write, but it's not supposed to be long, it's supposed to be angst. Please review! I would love to see what you guys think.