Chapter 2

Antonio scrambled around his house to find the warmest blankets and wrapped them around the young kid. He made sure to wrap one around himself as well. Antonio rushed over to his fireplace and started a fire. Then put a warm towel on the young, still possibly Italian's, forehead. The Spaniard looked at the boy for a second, watching his chest rise up and down a little more normally. Antonio smiled to himself knowing he just saved a life. He strolled into his kitchen to make a cup of hot chocolate. Unfortunately, it wasn't his favorite. It was some off name-brand that worker from the market 'recommended' to him. Antonio sneezed really loud echoing throughout his house, "Ugh, damn I got a cold." He grabbed a paper towel to wipe his still pink nose.

Once he had finished making his drink, he sat in a chair near the couch the new-comer was laying in. Antonio had absolutely no idea what to do now. Should he just wait for him to wake up and ask questions? Or should he wake him up on his own? What if this kid was some murderer? Antonio shook his pointless thoughts out of his mind and looked at the teenager's calm, sleeping face.

"There's no way this kid could be a murderer..." Antonio took a quick sip of his hot cocoa and was quite surprised on how good it tastes. He thought for a second, "What kind of hot cocoa did this man say it was?" Then the worker's voice popped in his head saying confidently, " It's Warme Chocolademelk, the finest in the world." Then Antonio shook his head again trying to forget about the stalker. At least he thought he was a stalker. Antonio took another sip of his warm drink and shrugged casually, "This stuff's not that great."

The Spaniard looked closer at the kid, his color was starting to return but his cheeks looked flushed. Antonio took a minute to look at the discolored cheeks then his index finger unwillingly moved towards the cheek until he pressed it against the softness. Antonio's mind cleared as he smiled brightly. Poke, poke, poke. He started poking the cheek repeatedly. Antonio started chuckling to himself, "Your cheeks are so soft." Then he tugged on it a little, "So soft..." The unconscious boy moved a little, groaning in his sleep. His face expression changed from a sleepy to an unhappy one. He pushed the Spaniard's hand away and flipped on his side facing away from Antonio. "Um, are you awake?" asked Antonio confused. When he heard no response, he figured the boy must still be sleeping.

An awkward silence filled the room when Antonio sat back down in his chair. The only noises were the sounds of fire crackling, wind blowing outside, and the boy's steady breathing. Antonio sighed and set his cup down after he finished the last sip. He was bored out of his mind right now so, he went back and forth from the living room to the kitchen multiple times glancing at the boy every once in a while. "What am I supposed to do?" He plopped back in his chair.

Antonio looked at the boy's back then at his hair. Something happened to catch his eye, "Huh?" He stood up walked over and stood next to the teenager's head, "A single curl?" There was one long curl protruding from the head of the boy. Antonio tilted his head. There are some weird hairstyles nowadays...

But being the curious Spaniard he is, he reached over and touched the curl. The boy flinched and his body tensed up for a second and released. Antonio was unaware of the funny sound the boy made, but wondered why the boy tensed up. Antonio kept messing with the curl and, the boy started to squirm and whispered, "S-Stop..." Unfortunately, Antonio did not hear him. Antonio smiled, "This is a cute hairdo." And without thinking, Antonio pulled the curl.

"CHIGIIIIII!" yelled the boy, who snapped his eyes open and punched Antonio straight in the stomach.

Antonio stumbled back and clutched his stomach. "What the hell, bastard? Don't touch me there!" Antonio took a deep breath, finally regaining his composure and stood up straight, "What?" The boy looked really upset and started shaking his head yelling, "I said don't touch me there, you bastard!" Antonio couldn't process everything that just happened. The boy looked around the room with his fist clenched in the air, "Where the hell am I?"

Antonio tilted his head and smiled, "You're in my house." The teenager threw a pillow smacking Antonio square in the face, "And who the hell are you?" The Spaniard picked the pillow off the ground, his nose actually hurting a little. This boy has some arm power on him. "Actually I have been wondering the same thing. Who are you?" The raging boy finally calmed down a little but he had a scowl on his face, "I asked you first, who are you?" Antonio sat in his chair and smiled brightly at the boy, "My name is Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. Now-"

"That name is too long. How am I supposed to be able to remember that, bastard?"

Antonio smiled a little with a puzzled look, "My name's not that long."

"Yeah, it is. I don't even remember what it was. Antoine Julio Ricardo?"

What is up with this kid? "It's Antonio. Don't worry about the rest of it. What's your name?"

"Why do I have to tell you my name?" This kid was acting a complete brat but Antonio just kept smiling, "Because I would like to address properly." The boy crossed his arms and glanced at the man in front of him, "Lovino. Lovino Vargas."

Antonio's eyes brightened in awe, "That's such a wonderful name!" Lovino looked at the man like he was stupid, "It's nothing special, bastard."

"Well, I like it."

"Shut up." replied Lovino coldly.

Antonio sat down near Lovino's feet and looked straight at the boy, "Are you Italian?" Lovino seemed a little surprised by the question, "How did you know?" Antonio chuckled, "Because when I was carrying you here, you started speaking a little bit of Italian, so I was just curious." Lovino looked away, "Yeah, I'm Italian."

"Ah! What part of Italy are you from? Where is your family? Why were you out in the freezing cold dressed like that?" Lovino stuck his hands out, waving them rapidly, "Stop asking so many questions! What makes you think I have to answer all your damn questions anyway!"

The Spaniard stood up and patted the Italian's head, "I knew you weren't a bad kid."

"Kid? What the hell makes you think I'm a kid?" Lovino shoved Antonio's hand off his head. "Huh? What are you talking about?" Antonio looked at him puzzled. Lovino clenched his fist and scowled, "I'm twenty-three, you idiot!" Antonio became dumbfounded, "T-Twenty-three?" Lovino looked awfully pissed, "Yeah! I'm not a kid, I am a grown-man! That's it I'm leaving, you already piss me off." Lovino got up quickly throwing the blankets and towels off of him. "Gah!" Lovino stumbled to the ground. Antonio was surprised and quickly responded, "Lovino. Are you okay?" He kneeled next to the Italian man putting his firm hand on his shoulder. Lovino looked at him and a very light shade of pink appeared on his cheeks when he realized how close the Spaniard's face was. He clenched his teeth and pushed Antonio's hand off his shoulder, "Let me go. I'm fine."

Lovino stood up and started walking a little but Antonio noticed the Italian was limping, "Did you sprain your ankle?" Lovino looked back at the man halfway then looked straight, "N-No. I said I'm fine." Antonio walked up to him and gave his ankle a light and gentle squeeze. Lovino flinched in pain, "Ouch, bastard! That hurt!"

Antonio walked Lovino back to the couch, "Here let me get you some bandages for your foot." Lovino blushed from embarrassment, "Fine." Antonio walked around his house and finally found some bandages, he returned back to Lovino who was still sitting on the couch with his arms crossed and scowl still on his face. He was silent except Antonio could've sworn he heard him growling as he kept his eyes fixed on the Spaniard. He picked up Lovino's foot and the Italian once again flinched, "Be careful!" Antonio gave him an apologetic look, "Lo siento, Lovino." Lovino was a little surprised, not by the Spanish, he wasn't really expecting a nice response like that but he kept quiet.

When he finished wrapping his foot, Antonio grabbed a pillow and gently put Lovino's foot on it. He handed him a cup of hot cocoa that he made for the young Italian. "So, Lovino, what part of Italy are you from?"

"I don't have to answer that." Lovino glared at Antonio.

"Why's that?" Antonio's eyebrows furrowed in wonder.

"I don't have to answer that either." Lovino took a sip of the hot cocoa, "It's none of your business anyway."

"Aww, why you gotta be like that Lovi?"

"Lovi? What kind of name is that?" Lovino snapped at him. "I am not taking any nicknames!"

Antonio tilted his head, "What's wrong with nicknames? They are fun to have."

"I find nicknames to be stupid, I have always hated them." Lovino growled.

Antonio was confused. How can someone hate nicknames? Well, I guess it depends on the nickname but seriously Lovi is not that bad, "Well, okay, so I have one more question."

Lovino just looked around not really caring.

Antonio asked a little more seriously, "Why... were you out in the snow, almost dead?"

Lovino looked at him at first a little caught off guard but then his eyes softened into a blank stare, "It's none of your business."

Antonio rubbed the back of his neck. This guy wasn't going to talk that easily, "How about this, if I tell you about myself, will you tell me a little more about you?"

Lovino didn't really want to respond to that question, "Sure."

"Okay~!" Antonio smiled brightened once again and he cleared his throat. Lovino responded by rolling his eyes.

"My name is Antonio. You can call me Toni if you would like, I don't mind nicknames." Lovino glared at him. Antonio continued, "And I am 25 years old, I am from Madrid, Spain, and have lived in this country all my life. I had two best friends with whom I hung out with for a long time, their names were Gilbert and Francis. I-"

"This is boring." Lovino yawned. "What? Why do you say that?" Antonio became a little sad. Lovino shrugged clutching on to a pillow.

Antonio sighed. This guy was acting a little cold, "Well can you at least tell me little more about yourself then?"

"No."

"Why not? You said you would!" Lovino dug half his face in the pillow, "I lied."

"Well, that's mean." Antonio whined and leaned back into the chair. "It's not my fault, bastard." That sentence made Antonio then realize something, "Um, why do you keep calling me 'bastard'?"

"You said I could give you a nickname, right?" Antonio nodded, "Yes?" Lovino leaned against the couch, "That's my new nickname for you."

"Okay?" Antonio just went with it thinking that opposing it wasn't going to help. After a few moments Antonio looked over at Lovino to find that he was studying him intently. "Something wrong?"

"Why did you help me?" Antonio found that to be a very random and weird question, "Why wouldn't I? I wouldn't just leave somebody freezing to death on the street."

Lovino immediately changed the subject, "Do you have anything to eat?"

"Do you like tomatoes?" Lovino wrinkled his brow in confusion, "Uh, sure?"

Antonio stood up, "Alright I'll be right back." He hurried into the kitchen and from a distance tossed Lovino a tomato. He almost missed it but managed to catch it and clutched it against his chest, "The hell? A raw tomato? You're not even going to cook it!"

"No. You get more nutrients if you don't cook it, they don't taste bad at all by themselves. I enjoy them very much."

Lovino looked from Antonio to the tomato and scanned it carefully, "Whatever I'm starving." He took a big bite into the red fruit. Lovino's face went from blank to amazed and devoured it within a few seconds.

"Do you want some more?" Lovino nodded quickly, his eyes looked happy but the rest of his face still had a scowl on it. Antonio chuckled lightly and went to grab a few more. He handed them to Lovino, whom snatched it out his hand.

Lovino managed to finish them within a couple of minutes. The, now satisfied, Italian leaned back into the chair patting his stomach, "Ah, Grazie."

"De nada." Lovino's eyes flashed quizzically at Antonio, who simply winked.

Lovino's face started to turn a light shade of pink again, "Hey..." Antonio looked at him, "Hm?"

"You can call me Lovi... if you want." murmured Lovino, who blushed a little in embarrassment.

Antonio became delighted, "Gracias!" He pulled Lovino into a deep, friendly hug. Lovino quickly shoved him off, "D-Don't hug me, bastard!"

Antonio laughed while Lovino just looked at him with a light pink still on his face. After that, Lovino finally warmed up a little more up to Antonio. The Spaniard was happy that the man he found, lying almost lifeless, on the ground was just fine and quite healthy. He didn't even catch a cold.

The night started to set throughout the town and Antonio made a spare bed for Lovino on the floor of his room. Lovino rebelled against being in the same room as 'the bastard' but finally gave up when Antonio mentioned that his room was the warmest place in the house. They both went to lie down in their respectable areas. It took a while for Antonio to fall asleep; there were a couple reasons to that. One, he couldn't sleep with Lovino's loud snores coming from the bed beside his. Two, he had random thoughts keep popping in his mind. And three, he kept wondering why Lovino wouldn't tell him anything. Regardless, he closed his eyes and contentedly drifted off to sleep.

To Be Continued...

A/N: Yes, Tomatoes are considered fruits.