A/N- Sorry this took so long, classes are shit, lol. I'll try to get the next one up in a more timely fashion. In the meantime, he on the lookout for a Frain (France x Spain) oneshot and the debut of a RusLiet chapter fic. See y'all then!

Things were quiet. The next few days were a mess of them scrounging up as much money as they possibly could, praying that the guards wouldn't come back. So it was with great relief that the next person to knock on their door was a messenger and not a man with a sword on his hip. It seemed Antonio's proposition, no matter how hairbrained, had actually worked.

Payments. Not payment, but payments, and that was exactly what they needed. A spread out plan where maybe they'd actually have the chance to pay back everything that had been destroyed. It was much better than the alternative.

The three of them were so busy, in fact, that for that short time, Antonio forgot all about the fairy he had met in the forest. But memories are hardly ever lost. Laying in bed the fourth night since the meeting, his arms were tucked under his head and he stared into the dark, not a hint of sleep in his body. Every time he blinked he saw the image of Lovino burned into his eyelids, the touch of his hand itching at his forearm.

Lovino had been one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. That much was certain. He wanted to see him again, and again, and again and again and again and again and….

With a soft groan he shoved the heels of his hands into his eyes. It didn't alleviate anything. If anything, it simply replayed the encounter, the images moving across his mind with alarming speed. The other two in the room didn't so much as stir at the sound, thankfully.

Antonio dropped his hands to his side. He turned his head, just barely able to see the outlines of his friends from the moonlight streaming in the window. Their chests moved steadily. Suddenly, an idea sprouted in his thoughts and took root, holding him fast in the utter insanity of it and the complications that could arise. Dangerous, not really. But secretive, yes. Elusive. Bearing heavy consequences. And yet, he couldn't find himself finding any real reason not to take the chance.

Francis and Gilbert were asleep. They were as good as dead to the world, and they would be for a long time, for hours still. Without all the fumbling in the dark, surely, surely Antonio could find that fairy circle again. If he was fast, he could go out and be back by the time the sun rose, or at least have come up with some excuse for why he didn't wait before leaving to hunt. There was also the matter of the guards and how certain they were of his routine. It might seem strange for him to suddenly change.

Minutes ticked by as he continued to contemplate the dilemma. From the beginning, however, he knew he was going to go through with it, so maybe it was all for show. Perhaps he was just hoping to convince himself that he wasn't thinking of abandoning his friends for a creature he still wasn't quite sure hadn't been a hallucination from the heat of the day and his lack of nutrition. Whatever it was, he kept watching the other two, hardly breathing, for quite a time before finally sitting up. After pulling on his boots, Antonio heaved himself off of the low cot, his back popping in protest at moving so late in the night. With soft footsteps he tread out of the small room.

The night before he had talked to Francis. He had taken into account the heat of the days and had requested that perhaps, if he was so intent on making sure he ate, perhaps he could cook his flour cake the night before. That way he couldn't refuse, and he could also leave sooner. In the face of helping his friend the Frenchman had eagerly agreed; the cake lay on the table, ready for him. It gave Antonio pause. There were two choices here now. Either he left the cake and made sure he returned home before anyone woke up, or he took it and feigned the will of catching the animals before the sun could even begin to heat the earth. It was a firm strategy- that he be awake as the animals were just beginning to be, and catch them the moment they started to move around. It wasn't a bad strategy for his friends, either.

His hand hesitated over the flour cake before scooping it up. His other hand slipped his quiver over his head and his bow over his shoulder. From the side of the hearth he grabbed the dead flower that was to guide him to Lovino and tucked it into his quiver. It would be of no use until he was actually out in the forest, where it would make a difference. Heading out the door, he made sure to shut it softly, the click of the latch sliding into place. Then, with a gait that practically spelled determination, he started for the gate, the faintest of smiles tugging up his quiet expression.

{...}

Surprisingly, the guards didn't give him as much of a hard time as he was expecting. They simply asked what he was doing and he told them that he wanted to get out before the heat of the day woke and subsequently scared off the prey. Antonio had never lied to them before, so they suspected nothing, signalling for the gates to open just enough for him to walk through. The heavy wood shut once he was out of the way. He only spared a single glance over his shoulder at it before heading into the tree line.

Figuring Lovino would be in the king's forest again, Antonio headed that way. For the first time in a long time, and despite his current financial situation, he felt hopeful. Surely, surely he would be able to see the fairy again. After so many tales from his mother, the legends he had believed for the longest time, the dreams he had had as a child… There was no way he could have only met the creature once. He had to see him more, had to know more.

The ground passed under his feet, his eyes always directed towards where he had seen Lovino. Upon crossing the ravine, he pulled out the flower from his quiver. Strangely, the petals were already beginning to unravel, the shriveled, brown edges shimmering with the faintest of greens. A grin curled his lips up. Disregarding the danger of someone hearing him, or angering some sort of wild creature, Antonio held the fauna out in front of him and started running through the woods.

It was more than just the destination, he realized. He hadn't had this much fun in the woods for far too long, always worried about food and shelter and what the two back in the town were doing. He could remember climbing the trees as a child while his mother collected herbs to make their modest food taste just a little bit better. Most of the time it ended with him scraping up some part of himself, but it was always okay, because he swore he could smell the forest on himself for a week after and not the deplorable, choking smoke from their tiny little fire. Running like this… It was freeing.

The further he went, the more vibrant the flower grew. He watched emerald green seep back into the stem, the sunshine yellow color the pollen inside, and the brightest of blues paint the bells again until he swore he had picked it naught but five minutes ago, if even that.

His smile grew when he saw the ring of mushrooms. Antonio didn't so much as pause, stepping over the ring, hurrying towards the sounds of the river as it became audible. Sure enough, when he came to the treeline, he was greeted with the sight of Lovino. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, as the fairy was sitting on the ground and dragging his finger in the dirt, but he didn't really care. No… That was a lie. He did care, but he didn't care enough to ask about it right off.

"Lovino!" The fairy's head whipped up, those gorgeous, shimmering wings fluttering behind him. Antonio quickly pulled off his quiver and his bow, dropping them. He had no intention of using them, not right now, and he hurried over, his face flushed a little from running. The closer he got, the more his heart fluttered in excitement. Not that he paid much attention to that, though.

Irritation formed a wrinkle between Lovino's brows. He thought it was cute, and hopped on a few stones to get to where he was on the other side of the stream. Plopping down beside him, he made sure to keep a bit of distance between them, just in case the other was still frightened of him. He couldn't blame him if he was, but it was a well enough precaution. Though considering Lovino answered him instead of bolting, perhaps he wasn't as scared as he thought.

"Ah… Antonio, was it? So you actually came back, hm?" There was a strange emotion in the other's eyes. Disbelief, maybe? Antonio wasn't sure. His fingers drew from the dirt, and when he looked down, the Spaniard couldn't make anything out of it. It just looked like a bunch of squiggles and doodles, but the lines were precise, as though they had been meant.

His eyes drew back up and he nodded. "Sì, of course I did! Why wouldn't I? I mean, I would have come back the next day, but you see, we had some trouble, and I didn't want to-"

"Hold on- we?"

He laughed a little and nodded. "Sì, we. My friends and I. We all are really close, and we live in the same house. Francis is French, and he's blonde with really bright blue eyes, and he cooks for us and he makes sure we have as much food as we can. Gilbert is an albino. He's got white hair and white skin and red eyes-" He paused, seeing Lovino's eyes widen a little. Hurriedly, he added, "I know a lot of people think he's a demon, but he's not. He really has good intentions for everyone, he's just a bit… Brash. And he likes beer a little more than he probably should. He works under the blacksmith. It's the only bit of money we can bring in."

This seemed to settle him down. Antonio smiled as he saw the fairy's features relax, cheering again when the next question came. "And what about you? What's your part in this… Dynamic?"

"Me? Oh, I usually come out and hunt. It's the best way to get the food that we don't have the money for. We're kind of in a tight spot right now, so that's why I was over here when we met, like I told you, and I'll go back to the regular forest once the heat dies off and more animals are willing to come out. I don't really want to get caught by any knights or anything because that would mean I would be executed for being on his land, but I don't think anyone is going to cross your ring-"

"Duh. Because no one else is as stupid as you."

Antonio paused at the interruption. He laughed, lips curling up into a wide smile, unfazed when the fairy didn't seem to join in his revery. To be truthful, he had been rambling. It was a bad habit, probably the reason why he had many friends but only two best friends, seeing as they were the only ones who could stand it when he got on a roll. Still, the brunet didn't seem too upset about it. If anything, the emotion in the beautiful, blemish free face was slight irritation, annoyance. There was no anger, or really even a reproach. "I suppose you could put it that way."

Leaning over, Antonio gazed at the speckled green eyes. It didn't last long, however, as the fairy shifted uncomfortably and turned his head away.

Unperturbed, the Spaniard instead turned his eyes to those beautiful silken wings. He tried not to let awe enter his voice. "And what about you?" he asked, voice becoming a little softer. "I know almost nothing about you."

Those dazzling eyes returned to him for just a moment, then turned back to the stream before them. "Uh… Well… I really don't know what you want me to tell you."

"Anything! Friends, family, your home, what you like…"

"Ah… Well, I have a brother. He's younger than me. Extremely annoying. But…"

He leaned forward. "But…?"

Lovino sighed a little. He reached down and pressed his finger into the dirt again, curling precise, languid patterns into the earth. "But his wings are beautiful. He's- they're huge. Bright yellow, with a little bit of blue at the bottom. A swallowtail is what he takes after. Our grandfather, he says they're made of happiness itself, and he used to tell us that my brother was the sun and I was the sky. Y'know, never to be separated and all the shit." He gave a bit of a laugh, the sound ringing delightfully in Antonio's ears. "I would always as him, 'but Nonno! What about when nightime comes? We aren't together then!' And he would always laugh and ruffle my hair and tell me that my brother needed the rest; that I was the strong one, the restless one."

The strangest smile curled up Lovino's lips. The other man didn't know what that meant. It didn't make much sense, not to him, but he definitely didn't like the way through fairy's emotions were displayed so openly. It was too easy to see that for some reason, that tale upset him. Antonio placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently, not backing down even when he flinched. It was only to be expected, of course. Their kinds were likely never meant to mix, and yet here they were, speaking so evenly, as though it was the weather they were discussing, and not two completely separate galaxies.

"Aw, cheer up. He sounds wonderful! Very wise, too, I think." The fairy snorted, and Antonio's smile grew just a little bit more. "Whaaaaaat?" he drug out. "That sounded so poetic! How can you blame me for thinking that when you put it so eloquently?"

Lovino brushed the hand off his shoulder. It was a little callous, yes, but for some reason, the Spaniard didn't think it was meant that way. "If you're going to talk nonsense, it'd be a great relief if you could leave."

Ah- this would be a little trickier than he thought. "Alright… Then what are you doing there?" He pointed at the dirt and the curving lines, finally letting himself attach his attention to it.

"That? It's just a spell. Can't you read?" When Antonio blinked at him, the fairy sighed. "I'm guessing you can't read it, can you?" A shake of his head. "That's what I thought. It's in the Olde Tongue, a language passed down for many centuries. Basically, this is a protection spell. I'm not old enough to wield any magic more powerful than simple things with water, but I'm going to learn a lot. Like, a shit ton, alright?"

A laugh bubbled once again from Antonio. "Why water? Is that a thing all fairies do?"

"Hell no. We each have our own thing. Mine is water. My brother's is cooking, Nonno's is fighting… Everyone has something different." His lips tugged up bitterly. "Just my luck to have the absolutely fucking lamest one there is."

Antonio didn't know what to say to that. He was learning, just a little bit, about fairies, and who was he to dictate if a skill was impressive or not? Even if the bubbles of water he had seen Lovino drink from the last time had left him enchanted, even if he wondered about his other tricks, he had no right to console someone he didn't understand the full measure of.

...Or the person he still planned to kill.

Shaking the unpleasant thought from his head, he reached into his pocket. From it he produced the flour cake. "I know it isn't much," he said, breaking the small thing in two. "But I haven't actually eaten yet, and it seems rude of me not to share." The subject change went uncontested. Lovino held his hand out as the little pastry was placed in his palm, and he poked it a little bit, unsure. "What's the matter?"

"What is this?"

Antonio grinned a bit. "Flour, water, a tiny bit of honey, all fried on a pan. It isn't much, but it's what Francis can cook us all right now." He watched the delicate, slim fingers curl around the unappetizing lump. Not a single word more passed between them as Lovino bit down into it. His nose scrunched up and his lips puckered; obviously he wasn't used to something like this. He didn't look too amused by the Spaniard's laughter, either.

"How in fuck's name can you eat this?" he demanded, face still screwed up. "This is the most bland, boring, tasteless, pasty, hard to swallow thing I've ever had! It's disgusting!"

"Lo siento," Antonio chuckled. "It's all we have."

"...Don't bring it again. Next time you come, I'll have food. And it'll be good food. Got it?"

Antonio lifted his hands in surrender, smiling. "Got it." Despite how much the other hated it, he was amused to see Lovino try to eat the rest of the cake. At least he was polite, if quite vulgar anyway. And what was more? The fairy was already talking of another visit. How terribly, wonderfully cute.