Outside a small family owned restaurant, up in the front window, was a white sign with big bold red letters all in capitals. It read "HELP WANTED". College sophomore Antonio was desperate to find a new job after getting fired from his last one. His parents back in Spain were paying for his classes; he just had to come up with the money for rent on his own. Antonio walked inside and saw that there was only one waiter, a younger man no older than nineteen.

The waiter wore a bitter scowl and shot a narrow, animal-like glare at whoever dared to stare or look at him funny. His legs were long and slender and he was holding one of those super-huge trays on his shoulder with many pasta dishes on top of it. He glanced over at Antonio for just a split second before looking forward again. His eyes were a dark hazel, or maybe dark green. Antonio hadn't gotten a good enough look at them to be able to tell.

Antonio's eyes followed him, going from the shape of his shoulders down the length of his back until a loud booming voice roared out in front of him. "Just one for today!" The voice was the overly cheerful kind, but it was loud and forceful. Jumping nearly out of his skin, Antonio's eyes snapped forward. The man before him was a large, much older version of the waiter. His hair was dyed brownish to hide the grays, and he had a beard, light brown eyes, and a huge white smile.

Shaking his head, Antonio stared at the man. His hair was crazy; it had random curls that sprung out any which way they pleased and looked like it hadn't been combed in a while. The man's Italian accent reminded Antonio of home. "I'm not a customer. I saw your sign in the window and I wanted to see if the position was still open." he told the older man, trying to sound as formal as possible. He wanted to make a good first impression, but when the waiter walked by them again, his tray at his side, Antonio couldn't help but let his eyes wander back over to him.

The man gave another big smile and nodded his head. "Si, I've been hoping that someone would come in and ask. Is it possible for you to start today? We could really use the help!" The man didn't wait for Antonio to reply as he tied an apron around his waist. He waved the slender-legged waiter over and wrapped his arm around Antonio's shoulders. "Meet our new waiter, umm... I didn't get your name." the older man said, half apologetically, half expectantly.

"It's Antonio." the aforementioned said, flashing the entrancing waiter a smile. The older man laughed and gave Antonio a serving tray.

"Well Antonio, Lovi here will show you the ropes. Hey, Lovino, why don't you have him meet your brother and Ludwig before the after-church crowd gets here?" he asked the waiter. Lovino rolled his eyes and walked toward the back of the restaurant to what must have been the kitchen. Antonio followed after him with a huge smile plastered on his face.

Inside the kitchen a younger, smiling version of Lovino looked up from a pot of boiling water. The young cook looked sixteen, his face a lot like who Antonio guessed was his brother, but his hair was a lighter brown, and his eyes as well. Even the color of his skin was lighter than his brother's. "We've finally gotten another waiter! That's meraviglioso!" he squealed happily. His voice was as cheerful as the older man from before, just not as deep and powerful.

The other cook then appeared holding a large pot filled with water, which he set on the stove with ease. He was large, with wide shoulders and arms that looked like they could crush your skull. His hair was gelled back and was a sunny blond, which went perfectly with his bright blue eyes. Antonio stuck out his hand and smiled at them both. "Hola! I'm Antonio, the new waiter." he said.

The blond man shook his hand. "I'm Ludwig Beilschmidt. I cook and clean and fix things around here. " he said in a thick German accent. He quickly turned back to his cooking, letting Antonio know that he wasn't the type for long conversations. The Lovino look-alike didn't take his hand; he instead leapt at Antonio and gave him a big welcoming hug. Lovino rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he waited for the hug to be over.

"I'm Feliciano, but everyone but Ludwig calls me Feli, so you can too if you'd like! I cook mainly, oh, and I help Ludwig clean, but he won't let me help him fix things! The big guy who hired you is mine and Lovi's grandpa, you can call him Grandpa too, he won't mind, only Ludwig calls him sir. Oh, and Lovi is my big brother, people think we're twins because we look so much alike but, nope, I'm younger! I hope you like working here, it get really busy sometimes!" Feliciano said in a friendly, bubbly voice. Antonio got the feeling that he would never shut up, even if he was gagged.

Antonio smiled at Feliciano. He was adorable in a kid-brother sort of way and put him instantly at ease, though he was already pretty relaxed. He already had a good feeling about his new job. His last job had been horrible, and he silently vowed that he would never work for a fast food place ever again.

"So, what's the dress code here?" he asked, knowing that all restaurants like this had some sort of formal dress code. He looked over at Lovino, this time at what he was wearing. Lovino's shirt was a deep olive green which brought out the color of his eyes. It was tucked into a pair of pin stripped black pants, and the first two buttons were left undone.

Lovino looked at him strangely and sighed. "Shit has to either be red, white, or green. Just like the Italian flag. Black dress pants and slip resistant shoes the last thing we want is for you to fall on your ass and sue ours off." Lovino grabbed a smaller tray which he filled with full glasses, some with soda others with iced tea. He balanced the tray on the top of his hand and rushed out the door to get back to work; he had wasted enough time listening to those idiots talk.

Antonio grabbed a tray from the counter and rushed after his new coworker. Once he caught up to him, he asked where he should begin working. Lovino pointed to the left side of the restaurant and then left to his own table, muttering under his breath about the stupidity of the new waiter. Antonio sighed lightly, then plastered his usual smile across his face and began taking orders. He worked quickly and hard and made sure to be as nice as possible to his tables; he would smile and talk to them and make them feel welcome so that hopefully they would return. At the end of the day, he and the owner (Grandpa Vargas) signed some papers and he was made a formal member of the staff.

After shoving his tips into his wallet, he started to help Lovino close up. He washed the tables and dishes, then rolled silverware into napkins for the next day. Once he was done with that, he watched, strangely hypnotized, as Lovino swept under tables and chairs, getting all the food people had dropped. A drop of sweat rolled down his coworker's jaw and neck. Grumbling, he set the broom against the wall, then went to pull a bottle of wine from the bar. He filled two glasses and brought one to Antonio, keeping the other for himself. He then sat at the table across from Antonio and undid the third and forth buttons of his shirt, taking a sip of his wine. He spun the glass slowly in his hand.

"Red is my favorite," he said, taking another sip. Antonio bit lip and stared at Lovino, then took a half-hearted sip of his own wine, not tasting a drop. Was Lovino trying to tempt him? Antonio took another sip, this time trying to focus on the flavor rather than his coworker. Red was one of his favorites as well, and this one was particularly good, letting Antonio know that Lovino had excellent taste.

His eyes roved over Lovino's face, trying to pinpoint his exact age. If he remembered correctly, the drinking age in America was twenty one. Lovino didn't look to be twenty-one, though he must have been if he was this knowledgeable about wine. Antonio was twenty-two, and he hoped Lovino was around the same.

"How old are you, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Don't call me that!" Lovino said with a glare. "You don't know me well enough for that yet, so call me Lovino, bastard! And for your information, I'm nineteen, not like it's any of your business." Lovino grumbled and drank more of his wine; some rolled from the corner of his mouth. He wiped the trail away and refilled his glass. Antonio sighed quietly. He got the feeling that Lovino had been drinking during closing for a really long time now, and wasn't about to stop even though he was underage. With another sigh he finished his glass and set it on the table in front of him

Antonio folded his hands together, setting his elbows on the tabletop and resting his chin on top of his hands. "So, Lovino, do you go to school still? How about college?" he asked curiously. Most of the cleaning was done, though they still had to mop, so some small talk wouldn't hurt. Probably. Also, he wanted to get to know more about his slender-legged coworker.

Lovino took another sip of wine, then downed the rest of the glass. "I graduated high school last year and I don't have the time for college. I have to work here and help the old man out. He needs my help, and Feli won't stay since he wants to become a real cook, like take classes and everything. That potato-headed bastardo will go anywhere Feli goes." Lovino rolled his eyes at this, topping off his glass and looking at Antonio questioningly. Antonio nodded slightly, gesturing with two fingers that he only wanted a little more. "Those two are a thing." Lovino told him as he filled Antonio's glass a quarter of the way.

It was easy to tell that Lovino was a totally different person then his brother. He was ruder, meaner, and sexier. He and Feliciano didn't even look all that much alike; Lovino's hair was a dark brown where Feli's was light, his eyes (now that Antonio could really see them) were hazel where Feli's were caramel, and his skin was dark, darker than Feli's light tan. He had a smooth olive complexion, a skin tone that was seen to be very beautiful on women back in Italy. Antonio loved how Lovino's skin looked on him. It seemed to suit him perfectly, and went well with his dark hair and rude attitude. He wondered what his skin would feel like underneath the tips of his fingers, or what it would be like pressed against his lips. He shook his head to clear it of those thoughts, then got to his feet.

"We should finish cleaning." he said, moving to the kitchen to look for the mop.

Lovino poored himself another glass and drank it down before getting to his feet to help. By the time they were done mopping, he was totally and completely tripping on his own feet…drunk. Antonio stared at him before finally taking his arm and lifting him to his feet. "I'm calling your grandfather." he told him, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He saw that his friends had been sending him texts; he would ignore them for now.

"Don't bother… I don't live far from here. You kn-know the apartments by the Target?" Lovino asked as he placed on hand on the table for balance, his other hand gripping Antonio's shirt tightly. Antonio looked at him searchingly. He didn't want Lovino to get into trouble, though, so he closed his cell phone and slipped it back into his pocket. "I walked to work… it's that c-close." Lovino told him, swaying where he stood. "I can show you how to get there."

"Fine," Antonio said with a small sigh. He wrapped one arm around Lovino's waist to keep him steady, then walked out the back door of the restaurant to the parking lot. The Spaniard walked Lovino over to a red, gold-trimmed motorcycle, pulling some keys from his pocket. Lovino stared at the bike, then to the sticker of the Spanish flag on the front. It didn't sink in that that bike belonged to Antonio until the moment Antonio was placing the spare helmet over Lovino's head.

Antonio pulled on his own helmet, then helped Lovino onto the bike. Lovino's cheeks were bright red as he wrapped his arms around Antonio's waist to keep from falling off. "Hang on tight, querido." Antonio said with a slight smirk, starting the bike. It roared to life and he felt the arms around him grow tighter. He sped out of the parking lot and towards the apartment buildings by the Target, trying to focus on the road and not the hands clasped around his middle.

He turned left and drove past a small drug store before seeing Target and the apartments. He turned towards them and drove slowly through the rows of buildings, which were set up in a combination of letters and numbers. Row one was apartments 'A', then each door had the letter 'A' and a number. Lovino was in the fourth row, the 'D' apartments, apartment "D Eight."

Lovino explained it all to Antonio and pointed to his apartment window. "It's that one." he said. His words were even more slurred now, and Antonio nearly began giggling at how cute he sounded.

Antonio drove over to the door and parked his bike. He then helped Lovino off by lifting him up by his waist into the air like he weighed no more than twenty pounds. Lovino didn't even notice the Spaniard's strength; he was to drunk and to happy to be home.

Antonio took his arm and helped him up the two sets of stairs to his apartment. Once at the door, Lovino pulled out his keys and searched for the right one. He only had three keys and even when drunk it never took him long to find the right one. His face seemed to turn a darker shade of red and he turned towards Antonio. "I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow," he said as he closed the door behind him.

Antonio smiled, sticking his hands into his pockets as he walked down the steps. He got the feeling he was going to love his new job. He just had a really good feeling about it, not to mention his new coworker. "A very good feeling indeed!" he said mentally, chuckling aloud. He climbed onto his bike and went home; he couldn't wait to go to work.

….

Hey there everybody. Sorry for not writing anything in awhile I realized that darker fan fics are just not for me so I'm putting The Corus up for adoption. Now I'm not really sure how that works but if you want to finish it that would be awesome because I'm not going to. So just let me know if you're interested.

But as for this fic its romance and I can do that. I just got a new boyfriend, so I'm going to use our relationship to help keep me motivated. I already have seven chapters done; I just got to type them up. Also I have a new job so that should be fun. Well I hope you guys like this fan fiction because I do.

Also the title has a secret meaning that you all don't find out until later.

This fan fiction was inspired by Google Translate (just kidding)