A Bet Worth More Than Money Part One

Chapter One: Tomato Fields and Messes

Non possiedo Hetalia

Fields. Lots a' fields. Have a guess at what is in these fields? … Tomatoes. Tomatoes upon tons of tomatoes. With their stalks reaching for the blue hovering above them, the fruits had begun to ripen for their harvesters. In the mist of all these plants, two brown-haired men were working to pluck enough tomatoes for a meal before the sun went down.

With the sun hovering over the horizon, one of the men walked out of the fields of tomatoes with a frown. His hair seemed to have recently been matted down by sweat, while one strand curled out to the right. The man had his bronze eyes narrowed with a hue of blacks under them. In his lightly tanned arms was a woven basket of newly-picked tomatoes, waiting to be eaten. Putting the basket down on the damp grown, the man started to shout out into the fields.

"Antonio, get your ass out of those damn fields, and help me with the rest of the tomatoes!" the brown-haired man yelled to no particular spot in the fields. A shout of understanding came from his left, so he headed back out into the fields where he originally came from.

The highly tempered man walked deep into the vines, and sitting at his feet were three more baskets of the red fruit. Picking one of them up, he left for the non-irrigated land where he left the first basket.

Once at the said destination, the other man was waiting for him with a smile. The tempered man growled at Antonio, placing down the basket next to the taller man. Upon the taller man's arrival, there where three more baskets that were laying on the grown. The shorted of the two waved his hand to show the other to follow him, to whom complied. They marched out to the placement of the remaining baskets, and each man picking one up.

They returned, placing them with the others. With a scoff, the one with the curl put his hands on his hips. "Thats it for today, huh?" Antonio nodded at his words. "Hah, I got more that you, tomato bastard!" he hissed.

"Ah, but that means you care about tomato picking more that I do, Lovino! Thats not a bad thing, right?" Antonio replied. Lovino just rolled his eyes, and started heading to the coral coloured house with one of the baskets of tomatoes.

"Get the baskets into the garage, lazy idiota!" the shorter of the two nagged. Antonio heard, and picked up two baskets. He ran after Lovino, smiling at him once he had caught up. The Italian looked at the amount of baskets his friend was carrying, and glared at him. "Don't try to be showing off, Antonio!" he growled. The taller man just shrugged, saying that wasn't what he was trying to do. Lovino deemed it a lie, and went to open the garage door.

It opened with ease, letting the duo inside its cold room. They placed the baskets on top of one of the multiple freezers. Once unloaded, they headed back out for more. This time, though, Lovino tried taking two, also. There was four left, so why not? He tried his best to keep them balanced, and succeeded. … Until he ended up tripping into the garage. Antonio quickly, but gently, placed his share of baskets down, and went to tend to his friend.

"Whoa, there, Lovi! Are you okay, mi amigo?" The Spaniard asked, holding out his hand to help him up. Lovino swatted the hand away, and got up by himself.

"Yes, I am, Antonio…." the shorter man replied with sarcasm dripping on every word. Antonio smiled, nodding, not hearing the sarcasm. "… Of corse, I'm not, you jerk!" Lovino added. The other man's smile faltered, his eyes showing sympathy. "I mean, look at me!" he shouted. Antonio eyed the man from head to toe, seeing squished tomatoes all over his clothing and skin.

"Oh, my bad, Lovi." the taller man cooed. He went over to his friend and wiped some of the fruit off his flustered face. With another tender smile, the Spaniard put his baskets with the others on the freezer, and went to get cleaning supplies.

Lovino stood there, pouting. Dio, this is embarrassing! …I needed to take a shower, anyways. And with that thought, he walked into the house, leaving a small trail of tomato juice behind him. Lovino soon entered the bathroom, and started running the water.

Back with the taller of the two, he was in the garage cleaning the puddle of red fruit. Within no time, the mess was non-existent. With a puff of accomplishment, he took the basket inside, placing it in the sink. Before he left to get some tomatoes for their meal, he heard his friend showering. Chuckling, he snuck over to the unlocked door. Opening it without a sound, he heard the man mumbling curses left and right. After taking in his surroundings, he covered his eyes, then whipped the curtains back to show the shorter man in the nude.

Lovino screamed and yelled at the Spaniard, but noticed he cared enough to cover his eyes. But after his storm of swears, Antonio had go into a laughing fit, thus moving his hand to his belly. His eyes were scrunched shut, though, from the laughing. Giving the man a glare he wouldn't see, he closed the curtains with sass.

"Get the hell out, you pervert!" the Italian demanded. Antonio listened to his orders, and cooled his laughing before leaving the humid room.

Once out, he left for the garage to get some tomatoes. The Spaniard got a few, and headed back into the kitchen. He diced them, and began to make his desired dish.

Lovino had shut off the shower, drying himself off, as well as his brown hair; he avoided the curl. Once he was dressed, he opened the door, only to be hit by spices and other extravagant smells. Taking a deep breath in, he let his feet be guided by the aroma. The Italian reached the kitchen, and found his friend seated at the table, which had two dishes of Spanish food sitting atop it. With an amused hum, he sat down across from Antonio, and began eating.

"How is it?" the Spaniard asked. His friend nodded with approval, making the man across from him smile with more enthusiasm. Antonio dug back into his food.

Soon enough, both of them finished their meal. Before Lovino could leave, his companion began speaking.

"Are you tired?" Antonio questioned. Lovino rolled his eyes, shaking his head as a no. "Then you don't mind staying up with me to watch some TV before you leave tomorrow?" The Italian hung his head with disproval, and made his way to the living room. The Spaniard followed him like a puppy, and soon both were sitting on the sofa, TV on and blaring.

Lovino had started to nod off after the first twenty minutes of the show, and Antonio soon noticed. Chuckling, he waited for his friend to fall asleep. Once he did, the Spaniard picked him up bridal style, and took him to the guest room. He placed the sleeping man under the covers gently, and gave him a quick kiss to the forehead before leaving.

"Buenas noches, Lovi~!"