A/N: Alright, here's chapter one of a new story! This is a new style I'm trying out, so tell me what you think! I feel like it's much easier to write from a first person POV than third person. For anybody who may have read my last story... well, this is going to be completely different. Completely. Don't expect this story to be so happy all the time, because it definitely won't be, oh no. But I'm not giving anything away! The song My Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne is where I got the title from, if anyone was interested. As for the title of this chapter... Well, the song has absolutely nothing to do with the story, but the title is fitting! Sit back, relax, and enjoy chapter one!

Family Affair

(Mary J. Blige)

"…and we were in Venice when Ludwig proposed. We're engaged now!" I nearly choked on my pasta when Feliciano waved his hand in my face, the gold engagement ring sparkling in the light. Ludwig's ears turned pink as he looked down at his dinner, and Antonio had to pat me forcefully on the back before I could speak again.

"You're what?" I huffed, still trying to catch my breath. Damn, that noodle had really gotten itself lodged in my throat.

"Engaged, Lovino," Antonio told me, and winked.

"F-fuck, I'm not deaf," I said, feeling my face heat up. We had been dating for a little over two years, and I was a bit disappointed that Feliciano had become engaged first. Even though he was only a year younger than me, he sure acted a lot more immature. As for being siblings, we were exact opposites. He was the friendly, popular one. I was the grumpy, bitchy one, and most people don't like me. I can't really blame them, to be honest, but I don't care because I don't like most people either. So how I ended up with Antonio is beyond my knowledge.

You see, Antonio is a lot like my brother. Upbeat, always smiling, and kind to everyone and everything (yeah, inanimate objects too). The bastard was obviously messed up in the head if he's put up with me for so long.

"Yes, we're engaged! Ludwig and I are going to get married! Isn't this great?" Feliciano bubbled, grabbing Ludwig's hand and bouncing up and down in his seat.

"Yeah, sure," I mumbled, turning my fork around in my pasta.

"That's wonderful news! Congratulations, you two! When's the wedding?" Antonio asked, a smile on his face. Damn smiley bastard.

"Er, we're not sure yet," Ludwig admitted, looking warily at me. "We were thinking sometime next summer, when the weather would be nice, but we haven't planned that far ahead yet."

Now, here's the thing. Ludwig is one of the many people I don't like. Actually, Feliciano and Antonio may be the only two people I do like. But anyways, I don't think Ludwig is good for Feliciano. Maybe I'm just jealous. I had always been Feliciano's favorite person in the world, and he had always come to me when he needed something. But since he and that German bastard had started dating, Feliciano and I had become more distant. Truth be told, I really missed him, and I hated the potato bastard for taking my brother away from me.

Antonio always told me that I needed to give him a second chance, but I would never listen. I think the only reason he liked Ludwig was because he was best friends with his older brother, Gilbert. Personally, I don't think Gilbert is good for Antonio either. Or their other friend, Francis. They constantly go out to bars and get shit drunk, leaving me to pick them up.

And still, Antonio just tells me that I'm overreacting. Maybe I am.

"Lovino?" Feliciano called, breaking me from my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, irritated.

"I was just asking you if you wanted to be the best man at our wedding? Ludwig and I decided to ask you and Gilbert!" Well, I can't say I wasn't surprised. I don't think Ludwig really likes me, so I'm kind of shocked that he would agree to it. Then again, Feliciano said Gilbert would be there, too.

"Whatever, I guess so," I muttered, and Antonio kicked me under the table. "I hope you're not getting a diamond studded ring, though," I added, and Antonio smiled. Feliciano looked like it would be a wonderful idea.

"Thank you, Lovino! Yes, Ludwig, a diamond studded ring would be lovely!" I smacked myself in the face. "Antonio, we want you to be one of the groomsmen, too!" Feliciano chirped.

"Of course I will, Feli," Antonio said with a smile. Antonio and Feliciano had gotten since the moment I introduced them. He even treated Feli like his little brother sometimes. It could be weird and quite annoying at times, but I guess I was okay with it.

"Yes, thank you," Ludwig said quietly, looking me straight in the eye. It was actually kind of frightening.

I mean, I'm not scared of him, not at all! He was just… Oh, whatever.

After that, dinner consisted mostly of Feliciano and Antonio exchanging news from work, or whatever else crossed their minds. Often times, it would be about food, since Feliciano worked at a restaurant, and Antonio did a lot of cooking at home. I swear, when those two would start to talk, they never shut up. I listened anyways, because I had nothing better to do.

"Oh, and we're going to Switzerland for Christmas to visit Ludwig's cousin, Vash!" Feliciano said, resting his eyes on me.

"Have fun," I replied, no emotion in my voice. They could go wherever they wanted for all I care.

"That means we won't be here for Christmas," he added cautiously.

"Figured."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Feli, you don't need my permission." I was starting to get frustrated. Feliciano always spent Christmas with me, and now he was going to travel out of the country to go spend the holidays with that creep's cousin. He was probably another one of those drunken bastards. Maybe I'd tell Antonio later, but I wouldn't tell Feliciano that I didn't want him to go.

"Well I just thought you'd want to know," Feliciano's smile faltered a bit. "Yeah, okay. Have fun," I added, seeing the hurt look on his face. Most people wouldn't be able to tell when he was upset, but I sure as hell could.

"I'll get you a present!"

"Damn right you will," I said, a small smile playing on my lips.

Feliciano smiled again; a true smile. The small smile I wore had grown. Damn, when that kid smiles, it's contagious.

"Well anyways, we'd better get going," I stood up and pushed my chair in. "It's getting late and we've got stuff to do tomorrow. Thanks for dinner, Feli. Ludwig." I gave a curt nod to the German and Antonio stood up also.

"Thank you so much! Dinner was delicious. Come over soon!" Antonio said. Rolling my eyes, I walked over to the coat hanger by the door and picked up my very stylish Italian leather jacket. 'Because Ludwig says these are the highest fashion in Germany right now!' Tch. Last Christmas I had bought Feli one identical to it, because lately he had been wearing nothing but ugly German clothes. Tch. Even though they too lived in Italy. Sighing, I watched as Antonio shook the potato bastard's hand in farewell and gave Feliciano a kiss on the cheek. I wasn't going to bother with walking back over there; I knew they would come and see us out the door.

"Hurry up, bastard, I want to leave before morning," I called, leaning against the doorframe.

"Don't leave without saying good bye!" Feliciano cried, bounding up to me. I stood up and placed one kiss on each cheek.

"Come and visit before you leave to Switzerland," I said, trying to be friendly. I really didn't want Ludwig coming too, but it was inevitable. Feli wouldn't leave the house without him. Reliable bitch.

"Of course I will, fratello! It was good seeing you again!" He smiled, and it looked genuine. Of course, his smile was always genuine.

"Goodbye, Lovino," Ludwig nodded at me. Feliciano elbowed him in the stomach, and he quickly gave an awkward smile. I returned the gesture. Antonio frowned because it could hardly even be considered a nod, let alone polite. Like I care.

"Well, let's get going," I finally muttered after a long moment of silence. Maybe it was only ten seconds. It felt like an eternity.

"Yes, we best off now, thanks again for your hospitality. Come around whenever you want! And congratulations again on your engagement!" Antonio smiled before opening the door for me. I hid a small smile before stepping out into the cool night air.

"Bye, Lovi! Bye, Antonio! Don't have too much fun!" Feliciano said, waving goodbye. Antonio put his hand on my arm before I could make a retort, so I decided to stay quiet for once. Yeah, they had just gotten engaged, I was supposed to be nice and happy, but truthfully, I wasn't. Call me selfish, but Feli is my baby brother and I'm the only one who can have him. That potato bastard can go suck some wurst. And choke on it. And hopefully die.

…

Okay, maybe that's a little extreme.

Really extreme. But whatever.

"Lovino?" Antonio asked, one hand resting on the top of the car. A super sexy Italian car.

"Hmmm?" I guess I had drifted off. Thinking about my sports car, of course. Damn.

"Are you going to get in the car?" I suddenly realized that it was rather chilly out and I was shivering.

"Eventually," I shrugged, and opened the door.

It took about two hours to get to my house from Feliciano's, and this car ride was unusually quiet. Normally Antonio would be bubbling about something I probably didn't care about, but he had kept his eyes on the road for almost an entire hour. I swear, if he stared at the windshield any longer, his eyes would probably fall out or something.

Suddenly, Antonio reached his arm over the tray between our seats and took my hand in his. Startled, I looked at our intertwined fingers, then at Antonio, who still had his eyes glued to the road.

"You know, you really should try to lighten up a bit," he told me. I shifted around in my seat. Antonio's voice sounded alien to me. He sounded tired, stressed, and much, much older. It was a while before I could say anything. I think I sort of just gawked at him. Antonio brushed my hand with his thumb to get my attention again.

"Ludwig and your brother were trying to be good hosts. The least you could do is be polite to them."

I said nothing. Was Antonio really saying this? There were many times when he told me to be nicer to them, but not like this. Never like this.

"I know you don't like Ludwig, but he makes Feli happy. Doesn't that matter?" he sighed.

"He took Feli away from me," I said quietly.

"Feliciano isn't a child anymore," Antonio reminded me gently. "He's grown up now."

"Dammit, I know that," I muttered. "I've always had to watch over him. Our parents died before Feli had started going to school and Grandpa was always working to bring in money for his two orphaned grandchildren. Bella was there for a while, but when her brother got sick she couldn't help us anymore. Then Grandpa died when I was fifteen, and I've been taking care of Feli since then. It hurts to know (think?) that he doesn't need me and he's about to get married." I turned to the window so Antonio couldn't see the tears forming in the corners of my eyes and tried to keep my voice from cracking.

"Lovino," Antonio said sternly. "Look at me." Reluctantly, I turned to face him once more.

"Feli still loves you. There's no denying that. Just because he has Ludwig now does not mean that he doesn't need you. You're Feliciano's brother. He loves you." I turned away again, not saying anything. I didn't want him to know he was always right.

The rest of the car ride home was silent, except for the engine humming softly in the cold night air. I was tired, and when we got home, I slowly trudged through the front door. As I kicked off my shoes, Antonio placed a hand on my shoulder and turned me around to look at him straight in the eye. He moved his hand down to take mine and then smiled at me.

"I love you, Lovino. Don't ever forget that." He sounded sincere, but there was something hidden in his eyes. Something I couldn't identify. I quickly forgot it, however, as Antonio leaned down to press a kiss to my lips.

I felt Antonio's thumb rubbing circles on my hand again, and I felt myself leaning into him.

As soon as he felt me against his chest, he pulled back. The kiss had been short and sweet, but I opened my eyes at the sudden withdrawal.

"What the hell?" I asked, frowning.

"Sorry, my love," Antonio said, continuing to rub my hand. Damn, that felt good. "Not tonight. You're tired and still upset." He smiled and kissed me again as he saw the pout on my face.

This kiss was even shorter than last, but when he pulled away for the second time, Antonio took my hand and walked to the stairs with me trailing behind him.

"Let's get ready for bed," Antonio said.

"Fine," I grumbled as he led me down the hall and to our room. He pushed the door open and dropped my hand as he began to pull his shirt off. Subconsiously, I walked into the bathroom. Placing my hands on the porcelain sink, I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

Antonio was right. I did look tired. Thinking of him sent a wave of confusion through me. I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on my face.

"Lovino?" Antonio called through the bathroom door. "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy," I replied, drying my dripping face with a towel. "I'll be out in a minute."

Sighing, I sat down on the edge of the closed toilet seat and put my face in my hands. I was really confused. Antonio never acted like this. He never, ever denied sex. Hell, Antonio was a fucking sex monsterand hornier than a teenager. So this whole denial thing was new to me. Maybe he wasn't feeling good. Hanging out with that wurst sucker doesn't really do anybody and good, except maybe Feliciano. Though he's a bit messed up in the head.

I stood up and hung the towel on the door, then walked out of the bathroom to find Antonio sitting on the bed, He looked up when I entered and smiled at me. He was always smiling. It could be kind of creepy. I looked away and began to undress.

It was rather chilly in the room, so I quickly crawled into bed next to Antonio. He wrapped his arms around my torso and pulled me close. We just lied there in silence.

Antonio was so quiet that I was beginning to think he had fallen asleep.

"Lovino?" he whispered suddenly.

"What the fuck do you want, bastard? I'm trying to sleep," I muttered. Antonio chuckled and pulled me even closer to his warm chest.

"I love you," he said, lips against my hair.

"Yeah, I love you too," I mumbled, feeling my face heat up. He sighed contentedly and I felt his warm breath ruffling my hair. Slowly, his grip loosened a bit as he drifted off.

I stayed awake for hours, not able to fall asleep. The conversation we had had in the car and in the foyer kept replaying in my mind. At long last, I felt the much-needed sleep envelop me and I closed my eyes, plunging into a very restless sleep.