"Where the heck is he?"

Lovino was annoyed, and in his mind, he had every right to be. Antonio was supposed to meet him at 7:00, and that time had passed twenty-five minutes ago! He wasn't answering his phone, either, though Lovino had called him at least fifteen times by now. He'd probably forgotten to charge it again, the idiot.

The Italian man leaned back against the building he was standing next to. Antonio had arranged to meet him in the center of the new open-air mall that had opened up not too long ago. It was already immensely popular, as was shown by the multitude of people who were passing by. Though that could also be due to the fact that it was Christmas Eve, and there were probably a lot of people out doing last minute shopping. Heck, this was probably one of the few places even open right now.

In the center of the mall, a gigantic tree, easily fifty feet tall, stretched out to the sky, laden with lights, ribbons, ornaments, bells and all kinds of other decorations. It was all over green and red and white and gold and silver. Every other person who passed by it stopped to gaze at it in wonder. It really was quite stunning; it seemed to embody the meaning of Christmas, the holiday of love and joy and peace that was celebrated world round.

Lovino hated the tree. He felt like it was mocking him. Why, you ask?

"Look, darling! Isn't it just lovely?" he heard a female voice ask. He turned a bit, and a little ways away he saw a woman clinging to the arm of a man who was probably her boyfriend, if not husband. It was nauseating, really, the way she was practically hanging off of him like that. Their "love" rolled off the two of them like waves of an over-powering rank perfume.

He rolled his eyes and looked away in disgust as the two started making out. He couldn't believe anyone would do something like that in such a public place. It's not like he was jealous or anything, oh no. Like heck he'd be caught kissing someone, even in private. He didn't need anything like that. Psh.

His brother was off with the Potato, doing who knew what for their Christmas celebration. At least they wouldn't be home if Lovino ended up returning on his own. Whatever. It wasn't like he wasn't used to other people not wanting to be around him.

But really, where was Antonio? He scanned the crowd for what seemed like the thousandth time, looking for any sign of that perky smile he had grown so accustomed to. He didn't see it. Che. He would have crossed his arms in annoyance, if it weren't for the large package that was currently cradled delicately in his arms. Usually he didn't really care much about his stuff and wouldn't really worry about what happened to it, but this package he made sure to keep safe. Every time someone walked too close to him, he'd draw back, tightening his grip on the brown-paper-bound object to make sure it wasn't even jostled.

But if that stupid Spaniard didn't show up in the next five minutes, he was going to fling this stupid thing to the ground. He wouldn't care if it broke into a million pieces.

"Lovi~!"

Well, speak of the devil. "It's about time, you jerk!" Lovino yelled, eyes blazing bloody murder as the Spaniard quickly jogged toward him. "Where the heck were you? I was about to leave, you idiot! And did your freakin' phone die or something? Why wouldn't you answer?"

"S-sorry, Lovi! I…I was…getting something…" Antonio slouched and rested his hands on his knees, panting as he tried to regain his breath. "Sorry… Just a sec…" he wheezed, holding up a finger so that Lovino would hopefully give him the time to recover.

"You were getting something?" Lovino raged, taking advantage of the man's silence. "You freakin' tomato-loving idiot, I've been waiting for almost half an hour, and that's all you've got to say? Couldn't it have waited?"

"But Lovi, it was crowded!" Antonio whined, straightening back up, the pace of his breaths already going back to normal. "And it was something really special, it really couldn't wait!"

"Che, idiot." But as much as Lovino tried to hide it, he wasn't really that mad. He was more relieved that nothing bad had happened to the man to cause his delay. Not that he'd let him know that. "You're seriously freakin' stupid, you know that?"

The Spaniard blinked in surprise, suddenly noticing that something was different. "Lovi~!" he said cheerfully. "You aren't swearing like normal today!"

"You're just now noticing? You really are slow, aren't you?"

Antonio laughed. "So why is it? I'm curious!"

"Tch, it's my stupid little brother's fault. He practically forces me do this stupid thing each year, ever since I can remember. He's completely obsessed with Christmas and the sanctity and whatever of it, so apparently I'm not allowed to say any swear words. It's completely stupid, if you ask me," he explained, rolled his eyes to glare at the sky as he did so, as if it were the real source of all his problems.

"Really? But if you don't like it, then why do you do it?" Antonio asked innocently. "It's not like he's watching you or anything."

Lovino just glared in response. Like he'd ever tell anyone, let alone this guy, but he'd never been able to deny his brother Feliciano anything if it was something he really wanted. When that Italian turned on the waterworks… He doubted there was really much of anyone who could resist his younger brother when he got like that, though. The Potato was proof enough of that, as much as Lovino hated him. Big, strong German though Ludwig was, he always melted if Feli so much as started sniffling about something.

He'd gotten used to not swearing on Christmas, though. It'd become almost a habit. He wasn't even swearing in his thoughts as much as usual. Freakin' stupid little brother, trying to make him go soft.

See?

After not getting any response after nearly a minute of awkward silence, Antonio finally realized that Lovi wasn't going to say anything more on the subject. He opened his mouth and was about to say something, when—

"Attention shoppers!" a voice blared from the loudspeakers located around the mall, interrupting the soft jazz music that had been playing. "All stores in the Smythson Mall will close in ten minutes! Again, closing time is in ten minutes!"

Lovino jumped at the sudden loud noise, and immediately blushed furiously in embarrassment at being so obviously startled. Antonio's signature sunny smile burst into life. "Aw, Lovi, you look so cute when you blush!"

"S-shut up, freak."

"But Lovi, you are! You're like a little tomato!"

"The heck? Tomatoes aren't cute, idiot."

"They are to me!" the Spaniard chirped, looking quite pleased for no apparent reason.

Lovino frowned and shifted the package in his arms. "Look, this thing is heavy, and the mall's about to close. Were we going to go somewhere or not?"

"Oh, right!" Antonio had almost forgotten, which wasn't really a surprise. The mall had just been the meeting place; he had an even better place that he wanted to take his little Italian!

"Come on then, Lovi!" he exclaimed. He would have grabbed one of Lovino's hands to pull him along, but they were both blatantly full, so instead, Antonio hooked arms with him, not noticing the man's blush intensifying.

"Where the heck are we going, anyways? Freakin' tell me already!" Lovino demanded, his scowl deepening.

"But then it wouldn't be a surprise!"

"I hate surprises," the olive-skinned Italian muttered, but he let himself be dragged along anyways.

After only about ten minutes of walking, Lovino found that he'd been taken to a park of some sort. "A park?" he asked, obviously unimpressed.

"You'll see, you'll see!" Antonio said cheerfully, somehow managing to be successfully cryptic for once.

They walked only a little further when Lovino saw what the Spaniard meant. Right up ahead, he could see the river. It was a river he knew well; you couldn't live in this city without seeing it a lot, since it wound right through the middle of downtown. Usually it was overly polluted looking, in a sad, gray state from being surrounded by industry and smog. He didn't like it, he never had; it was just another thing in the list of the depressing things in his life.

But looking at it now, he'd be lying to say that it didn't look beautiful. In the black of the night, the usual slate color of the water was hidden beneath layers of shiny darkness, letting the night lights of the city dance across its surface like a scattered colony of tiny fireflies floating about. The night sky was clear, unbroken by clouds, and the moon shone full overhead, casting its silver glow on everything it touched. Even with the city lights all around, somehow the stars speckled across the sky could still be slightly seen. The whole river was silent, void of people save the two who stood on its bank, gazing out at the untouched splendor of the moment.

"What do you think, Lovi?" Antonio asked, turning to the other man with an expectant look on his face.

The moment broken, Lovino's face turned back to the scowl he usually wore. "I-it's fine, I guess," he harrumphed. Like heck he could say what he really thought. He'd look like a freakin' pansy!

Antonio gestured toward a nearby bench as he chuckled. "Well, shall we sit down?"

"Fine, I guess. I'm setting this stupid package down, already." Now that there was no risk of anyone running into him, he didn't have to keep holding it so protectively. He collapsed onto the bench, tired from standing for so long. Antonio sat next to him, his face full of smiles.

For a while, they just talked to each other. Not about anything very serious, just about life, and general "let's catch up" types of things. Though the two of them had always made sure to keep in touch by texting and emailing and the like, they hadn't actually seen each other in almost three weeks. And for them, who had been nearly inseparable for most of their lives, that was a long time.

Antonio spent some time gushing about the children at his day care job, talking about how cute a picture Lucy had drawn the other day, and how Michael had built a dinosaur from his clay. But Lovino spoke the most, complaining about his own job as a chef at Italia Café and how the customers were obnoxious, or his brother Feli and how he never seemed to do anything right, or Ludwig the stupid Potato freak and how was pretty much infuriating in every sort of way. He even ranted about his boss and how the guy really ought to just give him a raise for having to deal with such idiots every day.

"And you know what's really annoying?" Lovino growled. "Every time I go to paint now, I can't think of anything to make! Not a single freakin' thing! Well…nothing new, anyways," he added, his faced reddening slightly, though the Spaniard didn't seem to notice.

"Oh no! Lovi, that's horrible! Your paintings are always so good, too!"

"Shut up, they suck, alright? Don't bother sugar-coating it."

"They don't suck, Lovi! I like them! Ah~, it's been so long since I've seen any of your artwork, though! We haven't seen each other in a while!"

That sent the Italian off on another rant. "That's other thing that really bugs me, why the heck don't we see each other anymore? I mean, it's not like I'm freakin' lonely or anything, but geez, you're never around anymore! Che, I was almost starting to forget your stupid face, so I had to paint it. N-not that I wanted to paint you or anything, it's just I couldn't think of anything else to paint and it was freakin' bugging me! But it was a stupid thing to do, so…here, jerk," he said, practically throwing his brown paper package into the Spaniard's lap. "You take it. I don't want it, so you might as well have it." He slouched on the bench and refused to look at anything other than his apparently intriguing shoelaces as his face flushed over once again.

That tomato-obsessed freak had better like his gift. He spent weeks making that thing.

Still smiling, Antonio carefully unwrapped the mysterious package. As he pulled out the contents, the radiant smile on his lips was slowly replaced by a small "o" as he examined his gift.

It was a painting. It didn't have a fancy, expensive frame around it, nor was it a painting from a famous artist. It was Lovino's painting, pure and simple. But it was what it was a painting of that made it so special.

Of all the things that Lovino drew or painted, people were the one thing he'd never liked as much to have in his art. He'd rather draw a flower, or the ocean. Whenever he drew people, they just didn't seem to have life in them, that little speck of something that makes the two-dimensional people of the greatest artists in history come to life just by looking at them. But in this picture, the Italian had finally managed to get in that vital little piece of soul that had been lacking.

And it was a picture of Antonio himself.

Lovino had painted a picture of him in a field of tomato plants. In the painting, the Spaniard held a couple of ripe, juicy tomatoes in his left arm, and he was in the process of picking a third from the vine in front of him. Though he was facing somewhat away from the viewer, he was twisted around to look back behind him, as if he were turning back to look at a camera that was just about to take a photo of him. And, as always, his face was graced with his nearly ever-present, wide, honest smile.

The quality was amazing, even rivaling some of the best paintings he'd even seen. Lovino had really put everything in him into painting this, hadn't he?

For a while, Antonio was speechless. Then he whispered softly, "Lovi, I—"

"Just shut up about it. I know it sucks, but I don't want you fawning over it like you always freakin' do with my stuff. So just… Just keep it alright?" His voice got quieter and quieter as he went on.

Antonio's lips twitched into a little smile, amused by the other man's stubbornness. "Thank you, Lovi. Really. It means a lot."

With that, he leaned over and swiftly gave Lovino a small kiss on his cheek.

The Italian's face erupted with red. When Antonio drew away, it was silent, but for only a moment.

"Lovi, you look like a tomato more than ever!" Antonio exclaimed, his mouth full of smiles and innocent joy.

That set Lovino off. "You freakin' idiot!" he spat. "The heck was with that? You don't… You don't just randomly kiss people! Especially other boys! Che, what's your problem?" The Italian was franticly trying to stop a smile from forming on his own lips as well, and the effort seemed to only increase the intensity of the blush spread across his face.

"But Lovi, your brother's never thought it was weird!"

"What the— You kissed my freakin' brother? He's still in school, how sick are you?" He jumped off the bench in rage, looking like he was preparing to punch the living daylights out of the Spaniard.

"No, of course not, Lovi! I-I meant the idea of it! Honest!" Antonio seemed to be growing frantic himself, though for an entirely different reason.

But Lovino ignored him. "What, do you think he's better than me? Just like everyone else? Che, I thought… I thought you were different, you jerk." He slumped back onto the bench, furiously fighting back tears, staring into the distance with hollow eyes.

"Lovi…" Antonio looked confused, a question flitting between his unsaid words.

He didn't like this. His little tomato wasn't supposed to look so sad! He was supposed to be happy, and though the Italian was so often angry, Antonio could always sense a smile behind the thick mask.

Perhaps this would be a good time for that? He'd already been planning to do it for some time now, but…

"Hey, Lovi? Do you want your present now?"

"What does it matter?" Lovino glared over at him. "It's probably some stupid little thing you made, just like every year. Let me guess, a plushie tomato this year?"

"Nope! This year I saved up so I could actually buy something!"

Lovino swallowed nervously. He knew Antonio wasn't exactly rich, but he hadn't known that was the reason behind all those many gifts he'd received over the years all being handmade. He'd thought the man was just being cheap. "F-fine, what is it then?"

"First… Lovi, you know you mean more to me than your brother, don't you?" he queried as he dug in the deep pocket of his coat.

"O-of course, idiot! Geez…" Just when the red in his face had died down, the stupid Spaniard was saying things to bring it back. Probably on purpose, too, the jerk.

"Nobody could ever really compare to you, Lovi! So, that's why…" Finding what he'd been searching for, Antonio pulled his hand out of the pocket, holding onto a small box. Kneeling down in front of Lovino, he opened it, revealing a small, beautiful, golden ring. "I'm not sure you'd appreciate any kind of rambling from me, so I'll just say…please?" he asked, smiling rather sheepishly.

Lovino's eyes grew large, and he drew back. "The heck are you going on about? What makes you think— Why would I— This—" he stuttered.

Antonio's smile faded and sadness filled his eyes. "You…you don't, then?" he whispered. He suddenly started babbling incessantly. "I'm sorry, Lovi, I should have known, I should have realized, I'm sorry, Francis was right, I am stupid, oh geez, what have I done, I'm sorry, Lovi!" He quickly shoved the box with the ring back in his pocket.

"What? Wait, idiot—"

"J-just forget it, I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry, really, Lovi!"

"Hey! Listen to me when I'm talking to you—"

"I'll go return it right now, I'm sorry I was late out getting it!" The Spaniard hopped up and was about to run off to the jeweler's as fast as he could, forgetting that it was probably closed already.

"Oi!" Lovino barked, getting up hastily and grabbing his arm before he could leave. "Freakin' shut up already!" Seeing Antonio look back at him and open his mouth to start prattling on again, he did the first thing he could think of to stop the impending stream of words. Jerking on Antonio's arm and grabbing onto the opposite shoulder when it came within reach, Lovino pulled the man close to him and pressed his mouth to those Spanish lips.

Sure enough, it did the job. Antonio was stiff at first, startled by the sudden ferocity in the Italian, but relaxed, and quickly deepened the kiss. They pushed against each other, mouths growing desperate to taste more of each other, going further and further until finally they broke apart, starved for oxygen.

Antonio was stunned. Well. He hadn't been expecting that, of all things. Wait. He beamed brighter than ever before, realizing something. "Lovi, so then…?" he trailed off, not bothering to speak the obvious question.

"I-I didn't say no, did I? Jerk." Lovino wiped off his mouth a little in embarrassment. The Spaniard really was a jerk, the way he'd kept going like that. I-it wasn't like he'd enjoyed it himself or anything.

Oh, who was he kidding? Antonio was an excellent kisser. He'd admit it only this once, would just this one time let himself shine through the cracks in the thick mask he'd placed over himself. Perhaps, after all the years it'd held steadfast, that mask was beginning to crack.

"Lovi~!" Antonio cried, tackling the Italian to the ground in joy.

"G-get off me! Geez!" Lovino half-heartedly tried to shove the man off before giving up, realizing that he wasn't going to get out of the Spaniard's embrace anytime soon. Well, maybe he'd cling to this mask a while longer, even as pieces fell off all around him. There'd be no telling what Antonio would do to him if he no longer had any protection at all.

They lay there together for a while, cuddling in the silent night. Then Antonio leaned over, his lips tickling Lovino's ears as he whispered two simple little words while the town clock gonged out the arrival of midnight and carried in Christmas Day.

"Thank you."

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.

This marks my first ever completed oneshot/short story! Aren't you proud of me? I wrote all this in under 48 hours, too.

Now I just have to write six more before Christmas.

That's right, more Christmas oneshots are on the way! Each one will focus on a specific pairing, but they'll all be in the same AU. I've made a schedule for myself, and I'll try to update with another oneshot every few days or so, with the last one on Christmas. They'll just be added as new chapters to this, so that they'll all be collected together.

I may not actually write out all of the other six I have planned, though. There are three pairings that I'm for sure writing, but I may or may not write the others, it depends on the reception this gets. Review if you want more chapters! Heck, review anyways! I love reviews!

But regardless, the next oneshot will be PruCan! Look forward to it! It should be up in, mm, maybe five days or so?

Oh yeah, disclaimer! I don't own Hetalia. Duh. But if I did, trust me, there'd be a lot more shipping that was canon.

P.S. - I think this is fine rated as K+, it's not anything too bad, right? Please tell me if it ought to be T instead!