Told you it'd be longer- I assume we're all satisfied, yes? /shot. There's more baby Toni in here so hopefully it is to your liking. Oh and as a quick note before you begin, Lovino will be facing brief acceptance issues because I don't see him be a complete ass to a helpless infant. But that's just me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Enjoy!

Chapter Two

With some hint of what seemed to be recognition and fascination, the infant Lovino assumed was his dead lover reached out and touched his cheek and gurgled lightly while some spittle trailed down his chin. The Italian's nose wrinkled slightly and held the child out at arm's length, earning a befuddled look from emerald orbs.

No, this infant couldn't be Antonio; it just wasn't possible!

People don't come back from the dead no matter how hard you pray or how many tears you shed.

Life was cruel in that sense and it had proved its point to the Italian in more ways than one. He knelt beside his bed and prayed for Antonio to come back until his knees cried for mercy. He cried for Antonio until his eyes were puffy and dry of tears. He had loved Antonio until his heart had nearly burst from the raw emotion.

There was no one listening to his wishes.

No one cared enough to.

The baby cooed again and brought him from his thoughts which he seemed to be doing often lately. He couldn't spend the entire day cooped up in the sanctuary of his own mind. He needed to find the kid's parents as soon as possible- and in Lovino's terms that meant in the next hour or so.

But without a note or any form of identification for said child, Lovino was at a complete loss (he downright refused to acknowledge that the baby could very well be Antonio). He honestly didn't know where to begin. Nonetheless, he was going to search. His town was only so big with a limited population. Someone had to be the parent!

While Lovino was once again left to think, the brunette infant stared at Lovino fondly but also with interest as he tried to figure out the man before him. He felt safe with this person. He had saved him! He had taken him away from the dark and terribly uncomfortable place he was and removed the heavy blue thing covering his face. Though he had never seen this person, he wanted to be pulled close by the arms that were holding him away.

He could sense that this was the closest thing to safety he was going to get and he was in no position to pass it up. The infant extended his arms to try and touch the Italian in front of him and whimpered when he was unable to do so. He sniffled lightly as tears pricked his beautiful emerald eyes. Catching the gaze from the baby, Lovino read the plea screaming in his eyes and for a split second, Lovino considered taking the child in and raising him. However, Lovino quickly pushed that idea from his mind.

He couldn't raise a kid! He was still so young himself!

Maybe Feliciano would take on the responsibility, he concluded.

His younger brother had always wanted kids and being given the fact that he was with Ludwig and the duo were planning to adopt, this was the perfect opportunity for the both of them. Feliciano had the paternal instinct Lovino sorely lacked. He assumed the infant was no more than two months old so he hopefully would adjust fairly quickly to his new life. He didn't see why the baby wouldn't.

Feliciano and Ludwig being the parents were in the child's best interest.

This was the right thing to do.

Raising the kid was out of the question.

…no matter how much said child painfully resembled Antonio.

With his mind made up, Lovino walked inside his empty home and laid the infant on the couch and dialed Feliciano's number shortly after. During this, Antonio took in his surroundings curiously but soon became preoccupied with his newly discovered hands and stared at his palms as slid they out from the too long sleeves of his gown. He placed them together, reveling in the amazing sense of touch and the softness of his own skin.

Lovino hung up with Feliciano after a very short conversation due to Feliciano's excitement of 'seeing the little bambino.' And Lovino was content with that. He had left out the part that he was going to be handing the kid off to his brother but he would explain that when said brother arrived. It was already off to a good start and now it was all up to how the baby would accommodate to his new parents that would be arriving in just fifteen minutes.

Whoever entrusted a child to him could've possibly just made the biggest mistake of their life.

With his gaze compelled towards Antonio who was still playing with his hands and cooing innocently, Lovino felt whatever heart he had left break. Why all of a sudden was he feeling regret for making the decision to send a baby- who, by the way, he has never seen before in his entire life- with his younger brother?

He shook his head quickly.

This was the best option! He had to stand by his convictions just as he always did! This situation would be no different! He was perfectly content alone. He was just fine living in the deafening silence. On the couch and clearly beginning to panic from thinking he had been left unaccompanied, Antonio began to snivel quietly before it turned into a loud wail.

Lovino stared at him, unmoving. What was he supposed to do? He didn't want to comfort the baby lest he become more emotionally involved than he already (subconsciously) was. Lovino averted his gaze when he saw the tears slicking down Antonio's rosy cheeks.

The Italian stood frozen, his golden orbs as hard as amber itself. Antonio's cries rose in volume and in octave, becoming a full blown scream as his arms and legs flailed about helplessly in the air. Unable to endure it any longer, Lovino sat down on the couch beside him and hoisted the baby into his lap with one hand behind his head and the other on the small of Antonio's back.

Feeling himself in the larger hands of his rescuer, Antonio quieted considerably and his watery eyes focused in on Lovino. The emerald eyes seemed to desperately crying out, "Where were you? Why did you leave me?"

This tugged at the faint strings of Lovino's heart and he sighed. Was he really doing the right thing? Antonio seemed to be so attached to him despite only meeting him moments before. The doorbell rang and the infant's eyes darted around trying to find the source of the foreign sound.

Lovino stood, Antonio still in his arms and answered the door, moving aside so Feliciano and Ludwig could enter his home. Feliciano darted towards Antonio and began rapidly speaking Italian to express his adoration. Ludwig sighed softly and proceeded to close the door being that Lovino was busy. Antonio gazed at the newcomers with much confusion.

Who were they?

"He's so adorable!" Feliciano exclaimed happily as he took Antonio into his arms. "So you said you found him in your garden?"

Lovino nodded, "In a basket with a blanket covering him. There wasn't any information on him so I don't know how old he is or what his name is."

'Antonio,' a voice whispered in his head and Lovino pointedly ignored it.

"He looks to be about two months old or so. Maybe even older," Ludwig observed.

"Regardless of how old he is, he is so cute!" Feliciano rubbed his and Antonio's noses together and the child squealed in delight before gurgling and grabbing a handful of Feliciano's hair. The young Italian laughed and crooned to him softly in Italian.

"He looks an awful lot like Antonio," Ludwig said and Feliciano shot his German lover a surprised look before turning back to Antonio with a scrutinizing eye.

"You're right!" Feliciano gasped in amazement. "How weird… I'm sure it's just a coincidence though. You don't think Antonio went out and got some girl pregnant, do you?"

"It's probable but I doubt he did. He loved Lovino too much," Ludwig shook his head and that ended the conversation so as to spare Lovino more of the heartache he knew the Italian was feeling.

Once realizing his mistake of speaking of the Spaniard so lightly, Feliciano was about to apologize but thought it best to remain silent lest his brother yell at him for being insensitive though it was unintentional. He continued playing with baby Antonio and the child's laughter filled the room again.

Lovino clenched and unclenched his fists. Ludwig watched the two before turning his attention to Lovino, immediately sensing that his lover's brother was troubled.

"Something bothering you, Lovino?" Ludwig asked lowly as to not let Feliciano hear him.

"What do you care?" Lovino shot back bitterly but followed the other's example of a hushed tone.

"Because you look like you're about to have a complete meltdown," Ludwig replied and the stony glare he received from Lovino didn't go overlooked but he continued anyway. "You should go and compose yourself before Feliciano notices."

Lovino spun on his heel and hurried up the stairs to the bathroom, silently being grateful to the blonde German. Upon reaching the bathroom, Lovino stared at himself in the mirror. He didn't look all too bad but his eyes said otherwise. They were a colorful palette of anger, confusion and fear. The tears welling up in the corners enhanced the swirling emotions and Lovino turned on the faucet to splash some water on his face.

It should not be affecting him this much!

He was acting ridiculous!

He had no ties with the child (who he was pretty sure wasn't Antonio no matter how much they looked alike) that was downstairs being given all the attention and love that one could ever want. But what was this feeling he had? He, in all honesty, did not want to see the infant go. He knew that the baby was Antonio nonetheless he didn't want to admit it.

In fact, he didn't know what he wanted or rather he didn't want to come to terms with it.

After drying his face, Lovino slowly made his way down to the living area where Feliciano was tossing the baby into the air albeit he never truly let Antonio out of the security of his hands. The brunette infant squealed and grinned, revealing his toothless gums.

They're perfect for each other, Lovino thought rather sullenly.

Even though Antonio had returned as an innocent child who knew nothing of him, Lovino knew full well he couldn't make Antonio happy. He wouldn't even come close. He couldn't do it before so why even bother trying?

Antonio will be in good hands, his thoughts went against the small voice in his head to reassess this.

Ludwig threw him a look that wordlessly asked if he was okay. Lovino gave a sharp nod and sat on the couch adjacent to the one Ludwig was seated on and dully watched Feliciano and Antonio bond in the few short minutes they had been here.

"So, fratello," Feliciano began, "is there a specific reason you called us over here? You never really invite us often so this is a bit of a surprise."

Damn, he had forgotten how observant Feliciano had become as the years went by. Lovino tensed prior to speaking, "Yes. I wanted to ask you if you would take this child in and raise him as your own. You two have been discussing adoption for some time now and I figured I'd save you both the paperwork and give him to you. I'm not suited to raise a damn kid."

Feliciano turned to Ludwig and the German had a blank expression.

"But you are fratello. I don't know why you would say something like that. It's obvious that the little bambino loves you already. I don't think he'd want to stay with us," Feliciano deduced with a sad smile.

It was apparent his brother wanted to keep the child and it pained him to decline the offer but Feliciano knew keeping the infant away from one familiar face would be even more upsetting. With this said, Feliciano handed the baby back to Lovino who took him hesitantly and with wide eyes.

"What part of I'm not fucking able to raise a kid do you not understand? He'll hate me and that's the last thing I need!" Lovino countered.

"No he won't," Feliciano gave his brother a reassuring smile. "I'm positive he won't. Plus, I know you really don't want to give him up."

"How-?"

"I'm your brother. I'm supposed to be able to tell these kinds of things."

"You've been hanging out with the potato bastard for too long. He's starting to rub off on you," Lovino commented though there was no malice behind it. Instead there was a relief he didn't realize he had been waiting to come.

Ludwig rolled his eyes.

"But thank you for the generous offer, fratello. I think you're beginning to grow soft on us," Feliciano grinned and Lovino scowled ineffectively.

"Get the fuck out of my house."

"We can't!" Feliciano replied cheerily and moved towards his German boyfriend. "You'll need baby supplies and we're going to help you, right Ludwig?"

"Sure," Ludwig answered with uncertainty since he was new to this whole baby subject, too.

"Great! Let's go!" Feliciano grabbed Ludwig's hand and was heading towards the door with the enthusiasm of a toddler while said German was trying to keep in stride with his lover.

Lovino followed behind the duo and blinked rapidly to adjust to the bright sunshine. Antonio took in his new hometown with the utmost interest contained within emerald eyes that rivaled the sun's radiance.

The town of Cuore was quaint and friendly with a population of five-thousand and away from the bustle of the larger cities. The shopping district was within walking distance and there was never an unfamiliar face. That was just how Lovino liked it and Antonio had grown to like it, too.

They arrived at the market in a time of just a few minutes and Feliciano headed into the baby aisles where he scanned the shelves with an adept gaze. Ludwig had gone to grab a basket to place their items in and Lovino tagged along with his younger brother.

"Do you even have any idea what you're looking for?" Lovino questioned with a poorly concealed bemused expression on his face.

"Sure do," Feliciano had a chipper smile as he was already deciding among the formulas that would be best for Antonio. "I had to make sure I was prepared for when Ludwig and I were going to adopt."

"He really is beginning to rub off on you," Lovino muttered.

"I don't see why you don't like him. He's a nice guy, trust me!" Feliciano picked up a specific brand of formula and held onto it while he continued searching the shelves.

"I just don't want him to be an asshole to you. Only I'm allowed to do that," Lovino remarked childishly.

"Fratello, be nice!" Feliciano nearly whined.

"This is my nice. You know I have a more colorful language I could be using," Lovino said.

Feliciano couldn't help but agree. There was a comfortable silence between the two despite Antonio's constant cooing and Feliciano was the one who decided to break it.

"Promise me you'll take good care of him. He's so little and doesn't understand much."

Lovino was shocked at his brother's words. The paternal protection emitting from Feliciano was almost palpable. Gazing back to Antonio who stared at him innocuously, Lovino nodded in response to his brother's request.

"Thank you, fratello. Antonio needs you now more than ever."

Wait, what?

Lovino's heart skipped a few beats and his mind staggered; did Feliciano just…?

"What did you call him?" Lovino murmured.

"Hm?" Feliciano looked away from the shelf. "Oh, I called him Antonio. That's his name, right?"

"Well, yeah, but how in the hell did you know?" Lovino's mind was still reeling.

"I didn't," was Feliciano's answer. "You just told me. I only guessed since they look so much alike."

Lovino didn't bother to question the rationality of that statement but only proceeded to inwardly become aggravated. Since when had Feliciano become so attentive?

The older Italian nearly growled in the back of his throat, "You can't tell anyone about this. Not even Ludwig- I don't care who it is."

"I won't, fratello. Your secret is safe with me, I promise," Feliciano smiled reassuringly which ended the discussion permanently.

Ludwig returned with the basket and Feliciano placed enough food to last Antonio for the next few weeks and moved onto pampers and other hygienic items. The load in the basket was piling up fast and Lovino was almost certain that he wouldn't have the money to pay for all of it.

Clothes for Antonio came next since Feliciano dismissed the oversized white linen gown the infant was currently wearing. Once finding out the size that would fit best, Feliciano began selecting outfits left and right with little opinion from Ludwig and Lovino. Meanwhile, Antonio had found Lovino's shirt appealing and began to nibble on it, dampening the dark cloth with saliva.

Lovino's face scrunched up in disgust at the slight wetness coming in contact with his skin.

This would definitely take some getting used to.

"I think that's it," Feliciano dusted off his hands for emphasis of his hard work. "Don't worry, fratello, I'm paying since it was my idea."

"I'm perfectly capable of paying, damn it," Lovino grumbled.

"You want to half it then?" Feliciano offered, evidently adamant about paying for at least half.

"Fine," Lovino said, knowing his brother wouldn't get off his case unless he coincided with him.

"Are you planning on making the guest bedroom a nursery?" Feliciano asked as they put away the newly bought supplies into its proper place. "If you are then we should decorate it red and green!"

"I might," Lovino poked his head back into the living room and his eyes watched a sleeping Antonio for a brief second. The baby had been changed into a red shirt and forest green shorts to suit the weather while his previous clothes had been discarded. He returned to continue helping. "It'll depend on my mood."

"I'll be more than happy to help!" Feliciano beamed his radiant smile. "Are you going to help, too, Ludwig? Please say you will! It'll be so much fun!"

"Ja," Ludwig called from the empty hall closet, currently preoccupied with stacking the boxes of pampers and baby wipes neatly. Lovino didn't even think he was listening.

"Then it's settled! We'll come over as often as we can," Feliciano promised as he closed the cabinet.

"What else would you two be doing?" Lovino raised an eyebrow in suspicion. He was anxious to find out the answer to such a question.

"Well we'll be looking at children to adopt this week and the next. It'll be fairly busy for us with the paperwork and making sure the house is ready for the bambino."

Lovino nodded, "I guess that's everything."

Feliciano rested his hand on his brother's shoulder, "Remember what I said, Lovino."

The older Italian knew his brother meant serious business. Feliciano never used his full name.

"How can I forget? You keep constantly reminding me," Lovino let out an exasperated sigh.

Feliciano smiled, "Oh and try to keep the cursing down to a minimum. You have young ears present now."

"Whatever," Lovino rolled his eyes but nevertheless heeded his brother's words.

"We'll see you two later. I'll let you know when we can come and help with the nursery," Feliciano headed to the door with Ludwig.

"All right. Thanks for everything… I guess," Lovino mumbled the last part.

"No problem! Just give us a call if you need anything!" Feliciano took Ludwig's hand and they left.

Lovino's sigh sounded much too loud in the quiet that had alighted in the atmosphere but Antonio didn't stir from his blissful slumber. With a gentle and hesitant approach, Lovino reached out and set his hand atop Antonio's head and ran his fingers through the silky curls of hair as his own wishes to protect the child blossomed within him as well.