A clear sunny day it was, perfect for relaxing and hanging out with friends or family. A picture perfect scene could be painted on this type of day.
It could be, if it were a movie or something.
But a messy sort of perfect was just as nice, right?
…
Antonio walked along a dusty pathway, patchy grass lining it on either side, with his two close friends, Francis and Gilbert.
The sun glared brightly, coating the entire park in a harsh daze that made it a bit hard to see. Antonio held a hand flat over his forehead to shield it from the sun as he looked around the park. A few children ran around, tossing balls or Frisbees back and forth, or playing tag. A few couples were scattered around the park, on picnic blankets or snuggled up under trees.
Antonio's eyes lingered on some of the couples longer than normal, because he envied them. He wanted to find someone he could hold and love, someone who could light up his life, and someone he could protect.
He tried to focus on whatever Francis was explaining dramatically to Gilbert, but it became harder and harder to care about his babbling. It was probably something about his boyfriend, Matthew. As soon as they started dating, Matthew had been the sole topic of conversation whenever Francis could slip it in. It made Antonio long for someone in his life even more.
Eventually, they planted themselves on a park bench, with Antonio seated in the middle of Francis and Gilbert.
Antonio looked around some more as Francis leaned towards Gilbert to continue his conversation. Antonio was about to give up and roll his head back to take a nap, but his eyes landed on someone.
'Someone' meaning one of the most beautiful people he'd ever laid eyes on.
"Oh my god, he is gorgeous."
It took Antonio a moment to realize he had just blurted that statement out.
Loudly.
And the man in question had heard.
The stunningly attractive man pulled his head up from where his gaze rested on his lap and stared at Antonio oddly.
Antonio stared back, a blush creeping its way up his cheeks. He couldn't look away, as much as he wished he could. He forced a smile, adverting his gaze slightly, as much as he could muster.
He tried ignoring Gilbert and Francis as they roared with laughter, but it was hard, and it caused the blush to flare up even more furiously.
When the laughter had slowed down, and the blush slowed itself, Antonio looked up, only to find the man across the path on the opposite bench had looked back down, not paying Antonio any mind.
He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed.
When Antonio dared to look at Francis and Gilbert, the grins on their faces were wide.
"Oh, dear Antonio, you have it bad." Francis chuckles softly.
"I do not. It was simply an observation…" Antonio said lightly.
"Hate to admit it, bro, but Francis is right." Gilbert smirks wickedly.
Francis swung an arm around Antonio's shoulder and leaned into him slightly. "Ah, Antonio, as much as I would love to watch you grow flustered by this man, I must get going. I have a date with dear Mathieu."
"I must get going as well, love bird. I've got work." Gilbert announced.
The two other men stood up, bidding their farewells to their friend, and headed off towards the city.
Antonio waited a moment after they left, gathering his thoughts. He took another glance at the man across the wide path, noticing a slightly dejected look on his beautiful face. He hadn't noticed that before…
No matter what, Antonio knew that he should suck up his fear and go apologize for his outburst, he was sure it was embarrassing for the other man as well.
He stood up slowly, smoothing out his clothes, and approached the other man. He felt a tingling blush still pestering him, but he tried to shove it away.
He stopped in front of the man, waiting until he looked up. When he did, Antonio swore he would keel over right there as he saw the intensity of his amber eyes up close.
The man spoke with a slightly low, accented voice. "Yes?"
Antonio chuckled awkwardly. "Hello there, I-I'm Antonio. Nice to meet you."
"Lovino." He responded, his tone lacking emotion.
"I see!" Antonio smiled shyly. "I uh, just came to apologize for earlier… I didn't mean to blurt out like I did."
"Whatever. I get it, just don't worry about it." Lovino said, his tone picking up now, becoming a bit harsher.
Antonio didn't expect that.
"Is… Is something wrong, Lovino?"
"Nothing. Just go away."
"Have I said something wrong?"
"Look, I don't need your pity. Just leave the matter alone."
"Pity? Pity for what?"
"For your silly little outburst. I'm used to it, dude, I can tell when people make fun of me."
Antonio felt another blush heating up his cheeks, but this one was caused by shock and panic.
"What? No, Lovino, you've got it all wrong!"
"Do I? I'd like to hear your excuse, your stupid friends were laughing their heads off. You expect me to think you meant what you said?"
"I'm not going to make excuses. My friends are a bit inappropriate at times, I'll admit, but it's not you they were laughing at, they just like to tease me."
Lovino didn't respond, he just folded his arms and adverted his gaze.
"I… I uh, as embarrassing as it is for me to say, I actually meant what I said… I didn't mean to blurt it out, mind you, but it was true."
Lovino watched Antonio's gentle eyes fixed upon him, looking for an excuse to trust him. Part of him screamed for him to accept Antonio's apology, and another part warned him to stay away, for that part feared what kind of pain Antonio could bring.
When Antonio smiled sheepishly, however, the first part of Lovino won.
"So you think I'm… gorgeous?" Lovino asked shyly.
Antonio grinned, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, yeah… really gorgeous…"
"You know, Antonio, you're the first person that I can remember that has told me that."
Antonio's smile fell. "Really? I find that hard to believe."
"Well, believe it or not, it's true." Lovino said calmly, before lowering his gaze a bit. "But, uh… anyway, thanks. That's kind of you to say."
Antonio's smile grew once more. "N-no problem, I suppose!" Antonio chuckled softly.
"Would you like to sit?" Lovino said softly, motioning towards the seat beside him.
Antonio nodded gratefully and took the seat. He folded his hands and fiddled with his thumbs shyly. This man had the odd ability to cause Antonio's usually outgoing personality to fade away and become nervous. He didn't quite know why.
After a few minutes of the odd, yet almost easy going silence, Lovino spoke up.
"Hey, Antonio?"
"Yeah?"
"You're pretty gorgeous yourself."
A/N: Heh heh… I think this is the fastest I've ever pumped out stories for a couple, but the last few days I have been in a very Spamano type of mood xD So I want to write all kind of fics for them, for all different prompts and genres.
I don't really have a lot to say besides that! I hope that you enjoyed this!
-KayDubs