"Lovino…" Francis whispered into his ear, causing Lovino to squirm as he snapped his eyes open. "…Good morning." Francis smiled as Lovino exhaled slowly, their faces separated by only a few inches.

Lovino met his eyes and lifted his hand, tucking several strands of golden hair behind Francis's ear as he bit the inside of his cheek and frowned. "…You scared me…."

Francis laughed and kissed Lovino's forehead before settling down next to him, the soft white sheets hardly covering his bare chest. "You say that as if you don't adore it when I wake you up."

"Yeah, but this time you didn't wake me up with /breakfast/. It's completely different." Lovino complained, turning his head away as he allowed Francis to pull him into his arms.

"You're right. That changes everything." Francis teased, taking Lovino's hand and grinning when Lovino laced their fingers together. "I'm afraid that we used up all of the strawberries last night when we had the ice cream—as perfect as my crepes are, I'm afraid that even a single missing element would ruin their charm, no?"

Lovino rolled his eyes and pulled Francis into a quick, loving kiss. "Fine. But you owe me some for dinner."

"Dinner?" Francis asked, raising his eyebrows. "Didn't we plan on eating out tonight?"

"Do you know a restaurant that serves crepes past three?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then let's stay here." Lovino said quietly, batting his eyelashes as the corners of lips turned up slightly. His eyes shone with playfulness as he quietly observed Francis, a hand gently traveling upwards to pet the other man's hair affectionately. As much as he may have denied it in the past, Lovino adored being ravished with attention, and Francis knew this very, /very/ well.

Francis stroked Lovino's cheek in return, trailing his fingers over his soft skin with such delicacy that it would seem that Lovino was the most precious being in the world. He placed two fingers under Lovino's chin and guided his head up gently, so that their eyes finally met. They gazed at each other, breathing silently for minutes that passed like hours, their bodies pressed together so that they could feel a loving warmth emanating from each other.

"…I really do love you." Lovino finally admitted, his tone so honest that it made even /Francis/ blush. "…I'm really, /really/ in love with you." He smiled to himself before smacking Francis's shoulder playfully, earning a sarcastic frown from Francis. "Stop blushing like an idiot and tell me that you love me, too."

Francis laughed joyfully and then kissed the tip of Lovino's fingers, smiling so brightly that he would put even Antonio to shame. "If only I could put into words how much I /do/ love you, my dear. I really am entirely in love with you. You are my entire world, my entire /life/, and… and I am absolutely ready to spend the rest of eternity by your side."

Lovino couldn't help but grin.

"You didn't have to get so corny."

"You call it corny, I call it romantic." Francis laughed. "Regardless, a small speech like that is the only possible way I could even begin to express my feelings for you." He shrugged slightly before his lips met Lovino's, capturing them in a slow, intimate kiss before pulling away once more. The two of them sighed, holding each other's hands as they settled back down under the covers.

"I'm going back to sleep. It's way too early to be awake."

"Sleep well, my love."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"I love you, too."