Swear to shake it up/if you swear to listen/Oh, we're still so young/desperate for attention

Antonio Fernandez Carriedo was late yet again to work, though this time, it was only a mere 10 minutes instead of 20. He had at least tidied up himself before entering the building unlike his good friend and co-worker, Gilbert Beilschmidt. "Oi, Toni, you beat me again!"

He smiled slightly at the peeping bird in his silvery hair, "Only by luck, amigo."

He hurried down the hall to his classroom, where he taught Spanish at the local college's night school. It was already filled with his eager students, all attentive as he walked in. "Buenos noche, Señor Carriedo~!"

"Buenos noche, mi tomates!" He smiled brightly, setting his now empty mug on his desk, "Como estas, Noella?"

The redhead grinned at her acknowledgement, "Muy bueno, Señor."

He turned to the board, writing some new vocabulary on the board, "Okay, class, you all just write down these words and define them; I'll give you some easy work since I'm in a pretty good mood tonight."

The girls snickered, "Is Señor in amor?"

"I bet you had a pretty hot date earlier, didn't you?" Jessica smirked as Antonio tried to control his blushing. "How'd it go?"

He let out a soft laugh, scratching his head and moving out of the way so they could see all the word, "Aha, I slept through it…I should call Bella and apologize before her Lars beats me up…"

The girls laughed again as Kiara rolled her eyes, "Go ahead, we don't mind."

Antonio grabbed his phone off his desk and stepped outside the door, dialing a number he'd learned by heart. The best thing about having an all-girls' course was that they gave pretty good relationship advice and didn't get bored as easily as the boys. Although a few of his previous students had tried to flirt with him, he held his ground as a teacher and responsible adult and ignored it, much the girls' pride.

Speaking of ignoring, he certainly couldn't ignore the way he'd acted in front his new neighbor. He must've thought he was a weirdo! Okay, so maybe most of his neighbor's already thought that, but his new neighbor, Lovino Vargas, was just so cute! He must've been arranging things all day since the Spaniard had noticed the tiny beads of sweat on his face and chest. He was a fairly nice sight to see, even though he was expecting his old neighbor, Ms. Johnson to be there. He wouldn't trade them either, especially since Lovino was so young and beautiful and Ms. Johnson was so old and—

"Hello?" He snapped from his thoughts at the voice on the line, "Antonio?"

"Oh, hey Bella!" He grinned, "I just wanted to apologize for missing our lunch date! I was so tired from teaching so late last night, and then Francis and Gilbert wanted to go out for drinks after that, so I got in really late and I didn't get up until it was time for me to come to work!"

She laughed, and Antonio's heart beat a bit faster, "Toni, we had our lunch date yesterday! Remember, at that new Thai place?"

"Oh yeah!" Antonio laughed, "I forgot."

He could almost she her rolling her eyes, "Well, don't let it happen tomorrow! I'm introducing you to my very best friend from when I was kid. He just moved into town a few days ago and I haven't seen him in 5 years!"

"Okay, Bella," He nodded, "Just call me early so I won't forget! I better get back to grading papers, though. Ti amo!"

She laughed again, "I love you, too, Antonio. I'll call you in the morning."

He hung up, smiling a bit as a he entered the classroom yet again. He'd always liked Bella, ever since they'd met. She was almost like a little sister to him now, though he couldn't help how nervous he'd act around her. Maybe it because she wasn't the little girl he used to know. She'd grown up into a stunning, intelligent, and classy young woman, and even though he was more than intimidated by her older brother, Lars, he couldn't help the small more-than-friends feelings he got around her.

Of course, he'd have more time to think about those feelings when he wasn't at a deadline to put in grades.


"Yeah, Bella, I'm on my way now!" He pulled a white v-neck tee, excluding the red star in the right corner over his head and tugged up his jeans, "I'll be as quick as I can!"

Despite his wake-up call, the heavy sleeping Spaniard was still running late. He slipped out the door and locked it, stopping only briefly to notice that Lovino was not in his apartment before making his way to the elevator. He wondered what his Italian friend was doing today, and cursed himself for not getting his number.

Musing over that, he climbed on his bright red motorcycle, pulling his black helmet over his still damp hair before bringing his engine to life and taking off into the inner city, heading for the familiar diner he and Bella had christened as 'their place'. He had a fluttery feeling as he pulled up, cutting the engine and removing his helmet before hopping off his bike and entering the diner. He could already spot Bella's blonde hair in the usual spot they sat at, along with another brunette. She spotted him as well, her giving a small smile as he got to the table. "Sorry, I'm late, Bella. Traffic, I tell you!"

"Antonio?"

He turned to face the brunette, shock filling his face before a huge grin sat on it. "Lovi!"

He cringed, "Dio, please don't call me that."

"But it's cute!" Antonio protested, sliding next to Bella. "Just like you!"

The now flustered Italian blushed angrily as he loomed over the table to strangle to Spaniard, who only laughed instead of being scared, just as the waitress came by. "Um…"

The laughter stopped as Lovino froze embarrassed, as well as Antonio before Lovino lowered himself back into his seat as Antonio adjusted his shirt and Bella only blushed, covering her face. "S-Sorry, Liz, Lovino just gets a little defensive sometimes."

"Oh, it's fine," A gleam of something Antonio couldn't place passed over Elizabeta's eyes, "Though if clothes start to shed between the two, I'll have to ask you to record the incident for me."

Antonio sunk down in the booth as Lovino blushed harder, sputtering out a, "S-Stupid perverted woman," before Liz kindly smacked the back of his head with her notepad.

"Manners, Lovino." She grinned, and Lovino only grumbled quietly now, "Now, what can I get you all?"

The orders were placed without any more bodily harm and as soon as the Hungarian woman walked off, Bella questioned, "I didn't know you two knew each other."

"He's just my neighbor," Lovino hissed, still rubbing his head, "I still barely know him."

Antonio cheerily responded, "I'd like to change that, if that means anything."

Lovino only rolled his eyes and looked out the window. Antonio looked out the window, too, but he didn't see anything. He wondered what Lovino was thinking of.

Lunch passed without much conversation except for Bella offering to help Lovino finish unpacking (to which he refused) and asking him about his job as a designer, along with Antonio bringing up his job as a teacher, though he'd always wanted to be a chef.

"Alright you two," Bella kissed both of the male's cheeks as they stood outside the restaurant. "Be safe, especially you on that motorcycle, Toni."

"We will!" Antonio chimed, and she walked off to her car as Lovino stood at the corner. "What are you doing, Lovi?"

He could tell Lovino wanted to correct him badly, but instead, he only pointed to the sign to his left, "Waiting for a fucking bus."

Antonio scrunched up his face in confusion, "Why don't you just ride on the back of my bike? It's free, and you don't have to sit with a bunch of strangers for so long!"

Again, he noticed the conflict with Lovino. "Fine. Whatever."

He shrugged it off, ignore the small tension as he led the Italian to his bike, giving him his helmet and climbing on. He had already started his bike before he noticed Lovino wasn't on.

"Problema, Lovino?"

The brunette blushed again and Antonio noticed how often he did it. Maybe it was a medical problem. He'd look it up later, if he remembered. "I…can't…"

"Why not?" Antonio pouted, "Just sit behind me and pretend you're hugging me, only tight enough so where you won't fall off."

Lovino's blush only seemed to get worse, and Antonio grinned. "Aw, Lovi, you're so adorable when you blush! You kind of look like a tomato."

It was then Lovino hurled himself on the bike, digging his nails into Antonio's waist as Antonio hissed in pain. "Drive, dammit."