One For Sorrow, Two For Joy - Chapter Two

One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told
Eight for a wish
Nine for a kiss
Ten for a time of joyous bliss
Eleven for hope
Twelve for faith
Thirteen for a love that never goes away.

Two For Joy

Enjoy~

Lovino flung his bag deep under his bed, marched over to the wall, and kicked it squarely with enough force to prompt the Spanish lady next door to yell an unintelligible curse at him through the wall.
"Oh, vaffanculo!" Lovino hollered in return. A muffled retort was flung back at him and he kicked the wall again. "Vai scopare un toro o qualunque cosa tu gli spagnoli fate!" he shot back.
There was blessed silence from the other side of the wall as if she was trying to analyse the rapid-fire insult and Lovino turned away, hissing a mutinous "Bastarda," under his breath before sitting down with a flump on the edge of his bed.
Lovino preferred not to interact with his temperamental neighbour any further than hurling insults in languages neither could understand through the wall. She didn't usually annoy him that much, but today a certain other infuriating Spaniard was on his mind and his moody neighbour had just brought back all the confusion of that morning with her stupid-fucking-Spanishness.
Goddammit.
Of course she never had anything bad to say about Romeo and Feliciano, no, they were charming and she always smiled at them when she saw them outside.
Lovino scowled to himself. But then, that was routine, wasn't it? The standard opinion of pretty much every single person they had ever met.
He clenched his fists and tried to breathe evenly. Not now.
As if answering, Antonio's face swam into Lovino's mind, and he scowled again.
Because Antonio hadn't been dismissive of Lovino. He'd been friendly, charming, almost as if…he actually liked Lovino.
And that sort of thing was definitely something Lovino wasn't used to.
What was he going to do about him?
No-one else ever bothered to talk to Lovino kindly. To everybody that came to the caffè, he was just their waiter. Sure, occasionally the odd group of stupidly giggly teenage girls would flirt with him, but as soon as Lovino had scowled at them and made it clear he was not interested, they would stop.
People disliking him, Lovino could deal with.
He brushed his hair out of his eyes.
Yes.
It was just people being nice to him that he couldn't explain.


It was the sound of the front door banging and the excited babble of presumably pasta-related nonsense bubbling up through the floorboards several hours later that first signified Feliciano and Romeo's return from the caffè.
Lovino, at the time, was standing in the bathroom, looking at his reflection in the mirror, trying to work out whether parting his hair differently did actually make him look older, as Sarah had suggested a few days ago.
So far he had found the attempt to be unsuccessful. And in fact, with his hair messy, half brushed over, it reminded him almost painfully of Antonio.
He hurriedly combed his hair back to normal and as Feliciano and Romeo's voices drifted up from downstairs, ran out of the bathroom and into the room he shared with Feliciano.
In an attempt to make it look as if he'd been doing something productive, he grabbed his headphones from the dresser, put them over his ears, snatched a book from the floor, and collapsed onto the bed, opening the book to a random page just as the door burst open.
"Hi Lovi!" Feliciano called from the door. "You missed a brilliant day at the caffè - Antonio is so funny, if you'd have been there, haha! Ooh, ooh, and then this afternoon a customer kept harassing Ceci so she just stood back, picked up his lemonade, and poured it over his head - I mean, he was furious, but oh, it was so funny because he was all cross but he just had this water dripping off from his fringe and he went all cross-eyed trying to look at- Lovi?"
Lovino carried on pretending he hadn't noticed him and turned a page in the book without taking in any of the words.
"Lovino?" Feliciano asked.
Lovino nodded his head up and down to imaginary music blasting through the headphones.
"Lovino, I know you can hear me."
Again Lovino pretended not to have heard.
Feliciano sighed softly, and then Lovino jerked back with a small cry as a fat pillow sailed across the room and hit him in the face.
He yanked the headphones down around his neck and scowled at Feliciano.
"What was that for?!" he asked crossly, flinging the pillow back at his brother, who giggled, tried to catch it, and failed.
"You were ignoring me," Feliciano answered, once he'd retrieved the pillow from the floor and put it back on his own bed at the opposite side of the room.
Lovino folded his arms and settled back against the headboard. "I couldn't hear you, idiot."
"Yes you could," Feliciano insisted.
"How would you know?" Lovino snapped, shutting his eyes irritably.
"Well, uh, your headphones aren't plugged into anything and your book's upside down," Feliciano answered with a grin. Lovino opened his eyes and scowled darkly.
Feliciano tittered and tilted his head so he could read the book's upside down cover. "And why are you reading 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' anyway? Grandpa wouldn't tell me what it was about, here, let me see-"
Lovino's mouth dropped open and he thrust the offending book away from him as if it was toxic and shoved it onto his bedside table.
"Never mind," he said quickly.
Feliciano sat down at the end of Lovino's bed and sent a grin his way. "Please? What's it about?"
Lovino blustered for a moment. "I wasn't reading it, it's grandpa's, I was just checking when it had to be back at the library, you know how he's always leaving it too long-"
"No but what's it about?" Feliciano pressed, settling into the little hollow he'd created in Lovino's duvet.
Lovino thought quickly. "It's about, uh, a couple of people who, um, buy a...shop, and they have to, uh, to redecorate it and the book is about, um, their search for the, um, exact right shade of grey they want to paint the shop."
"Oh." Feliciano gave a disappointed sigh. "I thought it would be something more interesting. That sounds, well, boring..."
Lovino nodded, eagerly latching onto Feliciano's words. "Yeah, apparently it's really crap despite the reviews posh people give it. Maybe English people like reading about stuff like that, I don't know."
"Oh, never mind." Feliciano said. "Anyway, you missed such a good day today! Honestly, Antonio is so, so funny, he was all telling us this joke about a cow and a call centre, and I swear Ceci was about to wet herself or something - ooh, ooh, I should tell you from the start - okay, so, there's this cow - oh, and when I asked what his name was Antonio said he didn't have a name - but oh, cows have to have names, don't they? Otherwise they might get all sad and stuff. Yeah, so I told Antonio that the cow needed a name, and he asked me what name, and I chose to call him Bendyduct, you know, like that guy Bendyduct Cumberbirch, or something, the one who plays that Sherlock character, whatever his name is, who's like 'ha ha ha, I know that you're married or whatever because of the folds in your shirt'. Shorelick is a stupid name - at least, I think that's what his name is. But then I guess Bennydick isn't any better, Bennydick Cabbageypatch or whatever it is. Ooh, did you know that he plays the big dragon in 'The Hobbit' - which seems a bit strange because he's like, Bilbo's boyfriend or something and now he's so much bigger than him - ooh, wouldn't you just love to be turned into a dragon for a film - I would just fly around the set all day eating pasta - oh wait, can dragons eat pasta? Mm, being a dragon wouldn't actually be that good if you couldn't eat pasta - oh, wait, the joke. Okay, so there's this dragon called - oh, no, it was a cow, wasn't it? Haha, silly me! So, anyway, Benedirk the cow picks up the phone and- oh, did I mention the phone was ringing? Yeah, it is ringing, and, so, Benniduck-"
"Feliciano," Lovino moaned through gritted teeth.
Feliciano cut off abruptly, startled, and then sent Lovino a winning smile. "Mm hm?"
"No offence, Feli, but I...really...don't care," Lovino said. Feliciano stared blankly at him for a moment and Lovino picked up the pillow from behind his head and placed it over his own face to emphasise his point.
Feliciano was silent for a moment.
Then gingerly the pillow was lifted off Lovino's face and Feliciano's face came into view.
"It really was a good joke, Lovi, I think you'd really like it if I told you all the way through-"
"It's not the joke I have a problem with," Lovino answered, grasping the pillow and placing it over his face again.
"But, seriously, Antonio is so funny, I'm so glad he's going to be sticking around more often in the future-"
"What?!"
Lovino shot bolt upright, the pillow sliding to the floor. "Antonio's going to what?!"

Feliciano looked taken aback. "Uh, he's going to be sticking around from now on. We're going to be seeing him more often - he's one of Romeo's old friends."
Something twisted in Lovino's gut and his face crumpled. He didn't think he could face Antonio again.
"Ah, goddamn it," he said angrily, picking the pillow up from the floor and punching it into shape.
"Lovino? What's the matter? Do you not like Antonio?" Feliciano asked.
"Oh, what was your first clue?" Lovino spat, words laced with a poison he hadn't meant to create.
Feliciano looked hurt. "Lovino..."
Lovino sighed and wrapped his arms around his knees. "I'm sorry Feli. I just... Antonio really winds me up. I don't know why."
"Then maybe you should give him a chance," Feliciano suggested, tilting his head.
Lovino scowled. "Spending any more time with him is just going to make me even more pissed off with him. He's just... Arrogant and self-absorbed and false and too goddamn good-look-"
Lovino cut himself off sharply. "I mean, too goddamn friendly. You can't trust anyone that seems that nice because underneath they're bound to be screwing with you and just pretending to trust you and like you because in the end how could anyone even..."
Lovino exhaled slowly, turning red.
Feliciano swung his feet onto the bed and wriggled closer until Lovino could smell the fresh, innocent dusting of cinnamon and herbs on his skin "I don't think that's how Antonio thinks at all," Feliciano said softly.
Lovino frowned and looked away from Feliciano's imploring gaze, hands kneading the pillow. "Look, Feli, I just don't trust him."
There was a long, pregnant pause.
Feliciano carefully prised the pillow Lovino had been manhandling from his grip, smoothed out the creases, and set it back gently at the side of the bed.
"But, you know, I... I think you're more similar than you think..." Feliciano said softly, meeting Lovino's eyes, who coloured and looked away quickly. "I think if you tried to trust him... You, in particular... If you really tried to get to know him... then I think... I think you'd really like him, Lovino."
Lovino exhaled slowly, Feliciano's words echoing in his mind.
I think you'd really like him.
Lovino's heart contracted as some of the thoughts and feelings he'd stoppered up started to escape.
Yes.
Because he knew, somehow, that Feliciano was right.
If Lovino allowed himself to get to know Antonio... He probably would start to like him.
That was the whole problem.


"Okay, grandpa, why was this in our room?"
"Why was what where?" Romeo responded distractedly, looking up from the newspaper he was reading with a curious expression.
"The- that- 'fifty shades of grey' or whatever it is! It was on the floor by my bedside table!" Lovino answered, flushing. He flung the offending book into Romeo's lap and backed away quickly as if expecting it to explode.
Romeo looked down at the book and laughed. "Oh, sorry Lovi. I was wondering where that had got to."
Lovino blustered for a moment. "What do you mean you were 'wondering where it had got to'? It was on my floor! You must have put it there - as if I would ever read anything like that! Seriously. Don't put it near my stuff!"
Romeo chuckled. "It doesn't carry the plague, Lovi! It is just a book, after all-"
"Just don't put it anywhere Feli might find it by mistake!" Lovino said quickly. "You know as well as I do that I'll be the one he asks about it, and I've already had to explain more things to him than anyone would be comfortable doing!"
Romeo raised an eyebrow. "Such as...?"
Lovino blushed furiously. "Nothing. Anyway - that's beside the point! Just-just... Just finish your damn book and give it back to the library!"
Romeo laughed as Lovino went to turn his back and walk away, then shot out a hand and pulled him back, Lovino falling into his lap as if he was a child.
"Grandpa!" Lovino groaned, exasperated. He tried to get up but Romeo's arms held him firmly in place.
The newspaper flopped gently to the floor.
Chuckling, Romeo shuffled around so Lovino could do nothing but sit still, scowling deeply and muttering curses under his breath, as he was pinioned in one position, unable to move.
After a moment when Lovino had given up protesting, wedged into the corner of the armchair Romeo was sitting on, Romeo sighed deeply.
"Okay, Lovi, so why don't you like Antonio?" he asked.
Lovino sputtered for a moment. "I-I don't even know him!"
Romeo made a non-committal sound. "I can tell when you've set your heart against liking someone. And you have done with Toni," he said.
Lovino squirmed, reddening. "I haven't set my heart against anything," he protested.
"Yes you have. I'm just curious about why you have such an aversion to him," Romeo said.
Lovino's mouth dried. He didn't have an aversion to him at all. In fact-
No.
"How do you know him?" Lovino said quickly, trying to avoid having to answer.
It's because you're scared, something hissed at the back of his mind. Scared of what the real problem is.
Thankfully Romeo went with it rather than pressing the matter.
"He was an apprentice of mine, as a chef, when I was working in a very large restaurant about seven years ago - I was head chef at the time! He was very bright, very talented, had a lot of potential. The two of us got along really well and he taught me a couple of things as well as the other way round!" he said, chuckling to himself. "But then the restaurant was bought by a larger company, which brought a whole wealth of new staff with it. All the old chefs lost their jobs and had to find new ones, and within the month the restaurant we loved had been turned into a fast food chain. I lost touch with Toni for a while, but then a couple of months ago he reappeared - he'd found Caffè Italia online and discovered it was run by me."
Lovino was quiet for a moment, squished uncomfortably in the side of the armchair. "What had he been doing?"
"Just floating around from place to place, finding work where he could. He's still young, he hasn't had the chance to settle down anywhere. He'll be off again soon, I expect," Romeo said.
Lovino frowned. "Moving off again?"
Romeo sighed. "We were catching up earlier today, and it turns out he's never stayed anywhere longer than a couple of months. He's too young, just constantly changing direction and flitting from place to place. He's really a very sweet boy, just a little foolish and unable to stick with something for very long."
Lovino couldn't describe how he felt. Enormous relief, yes, that he wouldn't have to put up with Antonio for long, but also... There was also confusion, and, and... Even a little hurt too...
Lovino scowled suddenly. No! No other feelings. He was happy that Antonio would be going off again soon, dammit!
Happy.
So as long as Lovino didn't get too close, Antonio would leave again, and everything would go back to normal.
Good.
Lovino sighed. "Feliciano seemed to think Antonio would be sticking around more from now on."
"No, I don't think so," Romeo said. "You know how Feli is. He thinks everything is going to last forever."
Lovino nodded wordlessly.
"But hey," Romeo said, poking him. "You should give Toni a chance."
Lovino rolled his eyes, then remembered something from earlier that day. "Ceci doesn't like him. She said he was a bastard. It might not be worth giving him a chance if he's really-"
Romeo started laughing. "Oh, Lovi, don't worry about that."
After a moment as Romeo continued to laugh, Lovino shifted uncomfortably in the small gap he was squashed into. "Grandpa..."
"Sorry Lovi, it's just..." Romeo tailed off, still chuckling. "Ceci's just... Well, um, she can tell you why she doesn't like him herself - that's up to her to tell you, not me."
Lovino scowled. "But that's not-"
"No, Lovi. Seriously, ask Ceci. My lips are sealed," Romeo said, eyes shining with merriment.
Lovino sighed, knowing how stubborn Romeo could be when he wanted. "But, anyway, if Antonio's moving on soon, there's no point trying to get to know him, is there?"
"Of course there is! Making friends always has a point," Romeo sang, poking him.
Lovino scowled, shrinking away from his touch. "Whatever."
Romeo sighed. "Listen, Lovi. I know you don't like going back on decisions and changing your mind, but Antonio is worth getting to know, honestly. After all, he is a really close friend of mine. I'd hate for my own grandson not to have got to know him before he disappears again. Perhaps if you'd give him a chance...
"Yeah, people keep saying that," Lovino muttered.
Romeo laughed. "It's true. So... Just try, for me... Okay Lovi?"
Lovino said nothing more, just looked down at his feet. "Can I go now?"
Laughing, Romeo shifted to one side to allow Lovino to get out of the chair. "I mean what I said though, Lovi. Antonio is a genuinely nice young man. Just a little young and headstrong. There's no harm in spending a little time with him."
But as Lovino shook his head in derision and walked out of the room, hands balled up inside his jacket pockets, somewhere deep down he knew that, in all honesty, there was.
There was a harm.
Because Lovino had a dangerous habit of getting attached to people he always ended up disappointing at the end of the day.


Scowling, Lovino scrubbed viciously at the table as if it had done him personal wrong.
It was the next day and Lovino had come into work determined to put yesterday behind him and get on with everything. And at that moment that unwavering determination was being released in the form of him scowling dangerously at the table and attacking it furiously with a dishcloth.
He was concentrating so hard on it, in fact, that he didn't hear the footsteps, didn't hear the soft laugh, didn't know someone was behind him until they spoke with a soft lilting accent and a grin audible in their voice.
"Hey."
Lovino tensed immediately, then gritted his teeth.
No, stop it Lovino.
It wasn't him.
It couldn't be.
Surely.
He forced his shoulders to relax, turned around slowly, came face to face with a certain grinning Spaniard, and stumbled backwards in shock, colour rushing to his cheeks.
But of course. He should have known, really. Nothing was evet that easy.
"Wha-?!"
"Hi Lovino," Antonio said, grinning at him with his tousled chestnut hair and his bright emerald eyes and his slightly rumpled multicoloured shirt and his casual zip up grey hoodie and his olive skin and his pale, delicate lips and his...
Lovino started, recovered himself, folded his arms and gave him his best scowl.
"What do you want?"
Antonio, as ever, remained undeterred. "I just came to say hi," he replied, sticking his hands in the pockets of his hoodie with a grin.
"Mm," Lovino responded, scowling deeper but, as always, having no effect on the ever-cheerful Spaniard.
"I feel like we got off to a bad start yesterday," Antonio announced, as Lovino turned around to scrub at the table again, hiding his blush.
'No shit,' Lovino was tempted to mutter, but he kept quiet instead and just waited for Antonio to continue.
"I thought maybe... it'd be worthwhile us trying again," Antonio suggested.
For fuck's sake, was no one going to leave him alone about this?!
Lovino scowled in confusion and gave the table one last vicious scrub before turning to face the Spaniard. Antonio grinned at him and annoyance flickered in the back of Lovino's mind.
"Why?" he asked, frowning. "Why would it be worthwhile?"
"A number of reasons," Antonio answered infuriatingly, bouncing forward on the balls of his feet with a quick smile. "The first is that, uh, the first time I met my best friends I thought they were the two most insufferable, dick-headed, idiotic arseholes I'd ever had the misfortune to meet."
There was a pause.
"What changed?" Lovino couldn't help himself asking.
Antonio snorted. "Absolutely nothing. Except now they know far too much about me for me to ever let them go," he answered, grinning fondly.
Lovino tried not smile but failed. Antonio noticed it and widened his own grin.
"So yeah, I think it's quite possible that if we actually got to know one another, we might end up as good friends," Antonio finished, brushing a stray strand of his fringe to one side.
Lovino fumbled for words for a moment and then resulted to putting his default scowl back in place to counteract Antonio's grin when he couldn't grasp any. After a moment he exhaled heavily, fringe puffing upwards, determined to try and protest against Antonio's words. "But-but it's not even like I'm going to see you that much at all from now on. I - Romeo said you're constantly floating from place to place, and, and you never settle, and you-"
Lovino cut himself off with a gasp.
Damn.
Why couldn't he just talk normally without, without... Being stupid!
But Antonio just smiled. "Well, that definitely was true a little while ago. But, you see, that's all changing now."
Lovino stiffened as his heart skipped.
No. His only reassurance had been that Antonio would move on and go away and Lovino wouldn't have to think about him anymore... If Antonio stayed... How the hell would Lovino deal with all the-the stupid stuff he'd been feeling - no, dammit, all the stupid stuff Antonio brought with him. He...
Goddammit Lovino.
"What do you mean it's all changing?" Lovino asked shakily.
Antonio smiled gently. "Well, uh, it's quite likely that I'll be sticking around for a while now. You'll probably be seeing a lot more of me around here over the new few months..."
Lovino's heart performed some sort of gay balletic leap in his chest without his permission and he scowled again in annoyance. "How come?" he asked distractedly, turning away again and attacking yet another stain on the table.
It's not true. He won't be staying.
He better not be staying.
Antonio shifted behind him. "I've found somewhere to live near here with my two best friends-"
"How old are you?" Lovino asked.
He reddened immediately. "Uh, I didn't mean to be rude, I meant like, well, uh, if you're living with friends and- uh, I mean-"
Antonio laughed and Lovino's heart skipped. "It's fine. I'm nearly twenty-six."
Fuck.

He certainly didn't look that old.
Lovino was only twenty-one himself.
He blushed again. "So, um, you live with your friends?"
"Yes. One of them owns a small bakery, and the three of us are currently living in the house above it. Granted, it's small, but it's cheap and ideal, and I can get to work easily."
"Work?"
Lovino realised what a stupid question it was and blushed furiously. Of course Antonio had to work!
But Antonio seemed to brush it off. "Yeah, I work at the Spanish restaurant in the Xscape building - La Tasca," he told him, grinning.
'The Xscape' was a large building in easy walking distance from the shopping centre where Caffè Italia sat - it was huge, and within its walls it had everything from an indoor snow slope to a cinema, along with so many kinds of shops and restaurants that it was an ideal extension of the main shopping centre. Lovino knew the area quite well - on occasion he would be a waiter in the little `Ask Italian' restaurant there, which was, which was...
Right next to La Tasca.
Lovino shut his eyes and groaned inwardly. Was there no way to fucking get rid of this man?
He gathered up all the empty plates from the table he was cleaning, hefted them into the crook of his elbow, and carried them over to the next table where he started scrubbing at another large food spillage. Antonio followed him, trainers padding softly across the floor.
"La Tasca's a nice restaurant," Lovino said awkwardly as the silence stretched on, crumpling up the dishcloth in his hand and facing Antonio again.
"Isn't it? Yeah, I really like it. But I think I like Caffè Italia better," Antonio said with a radiant smile.
"Why?" Lovino asked immediately.
Antonio laughed as if it was obvious. "The people, of course. At La Tasca the people are my colleagues, but here, they are my friends. You, Feliciano, Romeo..."
"I'm not your friend!" Lovino protested, then went red. "I mean - I meant that I-"
"No, no Lovino," Antonio said, bringing up a finger to hush him.
Lovino's eyes widened.
Antonio almost touched Lovino's lips, but suddenly backtracked and brought his hand down and slid it back in his hoodie pocket instead. "I agree. We're not really friends yet." Antonio smiled. "Fancy changing that?"
Lovino went red and stared him. "What do you mea-"
"Fancy skiving off a shift and joining me for a hot drink somewhere? I know of a really good place - oh, but they only do tea - is that ok?"
Lovino gaped. "Uh-"
"Feliciano is capable of doing your waitering too, I'm sure. Besides, the caffè is really quiet today, isn't it?" Antonio continued.
Lovino still couldn't say anything.
Antonio smiled at him and heat rushed into Lovino's cheeks again. Antonio idly lifted a hand to delicately brush the edge of the stack of plates in Lovino's arms and Lovino's mouth went dry.
Oh, for fuck's sake!
Lovino cursed himself for reacting so stupidly.
Antonio was touching the plates Lovino was holding - not Lovino himself!
Antonio's hand retreated back into his hoodie pocket once more.
"Sorry, am I distracting you?" Antonio asked quickly.
"You're always distracting me."
Too late Lovino realised he'd muttered the words out loud.
He went bright red again and stumbled back, nearly dropping the plates as he did so but just managing to keep a hold on them.
"Lovino?" Antonio asked and Lovino stiffened.
"I'm sorry, I seriously didn't mean tha-" he started.
Antonio cut him off. "No, don't worry. We all say things we don't mean to say sometimes."
Lovino just looked down at his feet.
"So..." Antonio said softly, and Lovino looked back up again, into Antonio's gentle eyes.
"How about that hot drink?" Antonio asked.
Lovino faltered for a moment.
Antonio made him so confused and awkward and angry and unsure what to say, but underneath that... There was a warm spark in Lovino's chest that flared whenever Antonio smiled at him, and there was a tingle in his fingers when Antonio came close, and... There was an undeniable flicker of...well... happiness... When Antonio was around. And the fact that he could be staying on... That there could be a chance of them seeing one another more and more... That Lovino could actually, possibly get to know Antonio...
Well...
Lovino bit his lip and looked up at Antonio, who smiled gently. The spark in Lovino's chest flickered brighter before growing into a warm, gentle flame, and Lovino had his answer.
He gave Antonio a cautious smile.
And nodded gratefully.


A.N
Translations
VaffanculoItalian - fuck off
Vai scopare un toro o qualunque cosa tu gli spagnoli fate! – Italian - Go fuck a bull or whatever it is you Spaniards do!
Bastarda – Italian – self-explanatory XD Bastardo is a more direct translation of 'bastard' but because the Vargas' neighbour is a woman I gave it a feminine ending. I could be woefully inaccurate but mmm, oh well.


HELLO AGAIN!
Okay, first of all a MASSIVE APOLOGY for being inactive for so long. As some of you will know, I can only access on my iPhone, and I do all my writing in the notes of my phone – but in early November, right when I was on the brink of posting this chapter, my phone COMPLETELY broke. I lost all the writing I'd been doing since I posted the first chapter of To Build a Heart in October - including this chapter – and had to start everything again from scratch. And then of course I couldn't upload this chapter even when I'd painstakingly written it again on my laptop XD. I had to wait to get my new phone for Xmas (which I absolutely love!). So yeah, a massive apology for making you wait so long, but here is chapter two at last!
Thanks to all of you who have followed, favourites and reviewed so far, and also to everyone who's been patient and waited for me!
My general time to write a chapter is usually a month, and as I have five big fics in this AU on the go and many more on the horizon of being published, as well as a couple of random floater fics (another dramatic PruAus one-shot, a stupidly feelsy BBC Sherlock mega-fic ((my apologies XD)), and one I'm very excited about - but for now all I'm revealing is that it involves USUK, a lot of confusion, the bad touch trio, and, um, Arthur cross-dressing - a lot XD), it could be quite a while until the next chapter of OFSTFJ is published...
TSAICS is next on my list to update – I'm very aware the last chapter of that was stupidly short – and then definitely Caffè Italia. I haven't written any fluffy GerIta goodness for far too long XD. Anyway, thank you so much for being patient with me, and hope you enjoyed!
Keep dreaming, all of you~
Love Charli xxx