-Dedicated to Kess and ExtraPenguin-

For the first time in his life, Tino felt disgusted. Completely and utterly disgusted.

With his cousin, with himself, and most of all, with that son-of-a bitch he called his fiancé. Or had called his fiancé. He didn't know. He was vaguely aware of the car he had seen Alfred pull up to work in skid to a screeching halt in front of him. The Finn could see the American, running over to him, the questions come tumbling loose from Alfred's lips, as the hands on his shoulders shook him gently. Either way, Alfred ended up carrying the half-conscious Finn to the shiny Volvo, and buckling him in like a small child.

Tino made a note to apologize to the enthusiastic man once they got back to Alfred's place, but after a while, his eyelids drooped downwards into a dreamless sleep.

-OO-

Alfred looked over at the now sleeping man as they rounded the corner next to Alfred's apartment block. High-price luxury suites for those people who rode on their Dad's coat-tails and made thousands of dollars each day. Alfred couldn't say that he wasn't one of them, heck, his old man was the top dog at the place he worked at. There was no greater satisfaction in the world than getting to embarrass your Dad in the one place he's actually respected.

He liked Tino. I mean, really liked him. Sometimes he wanted to pinch those cute cheeks of his that hadn't quite lost all the baby fat they had been supposed to. Sometimes he felt like squeezing the man for all he was worth when the Finn approved his drawings to be sent to production. Sometimes he just felt like Tino was the only one that understood him. When Alfred's old boyfriend Ivan had dumped him like a hot potato for some Chinese dude, Tino had been the one to sit him down, get him a cup of coffee, and just talk about his feelings, letting Alfred rant on and on before the American stopped to consider there was another person in this conversation. Tino had never minded.

That's why Alfred had been so surprised at the call he had received from the man whom he treasured above all else, save his younger brother Mathew, who was away in Europe, meeting the parents of his girlfriend, a Belgian by the name of Emma. Man, he still had to get that waffle recipe from her, didn't he? Back to the phone call. Tino had sounded so broken, yet so collected at the same time. Now Alfred could see how much he was broken. Almost to the point of no repair.

He pulled into the space closest to his apartment building and carefully climbed out, not wanting to disturb the Finn's slumber. He quietly opened said Finn's car door and painstakingly unbuckled the seatbelt, making sure that the man didn't wake up because of the loud click. Tino stirred for a moment, but fell back to sleep. A loud buzzing came from Tino's pocket.

Alfred debated his two options.

He could read the message the Finn had gotten just now on his phone, and possibly lose all the trust Tino had placed in him. He could also choose to leave the phone alone and have to ignore the curiosity that would be, without a doubt, torturing him the rest of the night.

Hmmmm. Read the message it was. Alfred squinted at the bright screen, trying the decipher the words for a moment, but then focused in on the message.

"Tino, please come home, I need to explain. -Berwald." And then another buzz. Alfred opened that too. "Tino, answer your phone. I'm calling you now. PICK UP NOW!" The phone then started to ring. Alfred cringed as he heard the ring tone. It was one of those sappy love songs that had been around forever, but he couldn't remember the name. He knew now that Tino was waking up, so he slipped the phone into Tino's pocket where it had already been, trying to piece together the messages. The American knew they meant something, he didn't know what. Yet. He carefully scooped the Finn up into his arms, and managed to lock the car. One thing was certain.

If anyone had hurt Tino, he was going to open a serious can of whoop-ass on them.

-O_o-

Tino woke up in an unfamiliar room. His mind surged forwards, trying to distinguish where he was. It was comfortably warm in the room, and he had a pile of thin blankets piled on top of his body. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and saw he was on a bed. Whose bed? The Finn was the only one in it. At that moment, Alfred came through the threshold. Tino sunk back into the headboard, remembering the unpleasant memories of the night before.

"Hey Tino, you okay?" the American asked him, sitting on the bed next to him. The Finn sat there a minute, dazed, the last veil of sleep still over his face. "Uh…um…I mean…" Tino murmured. The American cracked a grin. "That fine, huh? Hope you like coffee!" Alfred laughed, transferring a steaming cup of coffee into the hands of the waiting Finn. Tino gratefully took a sip of the drink, cheeks heating up to a rosy red. "So….CUTE!" Alfred thought to himself, covering his face with his hand, faking a cough. "I'll get you something to wear, I don't think those clothes of yours will make it. Maybe if we get them to the washing machine fast enough, we'll be able to save them!"

With a salute, Alfred barreled out of the room, and Tino smiled a moment before heard a huge crash. Tino leaped out of the mystery bed and followed down his friend's footsteps, only to slip on the hardwood floors and crash into the American, who had just gotten up. Either way, both ended up on the floors, positively laughing their asses off before they realized their position.

Tino was in Alfred's lap, one arm draped around the American's neck to steady himself, while Alfred had both arms locked around the Finn's waist. It was like they were in their own world. Then the little voice in Tino's head he called his "conscience" started berating him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? THIS MAN IS NOT YOUR FIANCE!"

Then his I-really-couldn't-care-less voice he called "Bob" for obvious reasons, joined in on the conversation.

"Oh, which fiancé? The two-timing, back-stabbing man you've lived with for how many years? Three this May, right? Oh, no, lets go back, maybe he's stopped f***ing your cousin long enough to give you a second thought."

"You know that's not fair."

"What wasn't fair was him cheating on us! Honestly, do you WANT a repeat of what happened in high school, Tino? Huh? I thought you were smarter than that. Apparently I was wrong. So, GO. Go back. Go home to a man who never gave a damn about you. Ignore this perfectly caring lovable fool who CARRIED YOU back to his place because you were so upset you couldn't speak or do anything."

"Tino, you'll end this whole thing NOW before it gets out of hand."

Alfred looked at the Finn settled on top of his lap. Tino hadn't said anything for the better part of 5 minutes, but the grip on his neck was seriously starting to choke him. He cleared his throat and Tino immediately let go. "I-I'm sorry, I just…" Alfred smiled and him and Tino trailed off. Alfred pulled him to his feet and grabbed his jacket. "Where are we going?" Tino asked him. "You look like you're about to cry dude. We're going to show you what you're missing. By the end of the day, if you've not had any fun, I'm not a hero. And I am a hero." the American replied, already shrugging on his coat over his day-old clothes. "Ummm, Alfred?" Said American looked up with a frown. "No offense, but you look kind of shabby. Take a shower." Tino said, tossing him a towel. Alfred smirked and on impulse, leaned over and kissed the Finn's cheek. "Whatever you say, wife!"

-End of this chapter!-

AHH! Finally this beast is done! It took me forever to do this, je suis desole. :D Anyways, hope you liked it, please review if you want!

Hasta la Pasta!