The first thing Antonio dimly registered was a muffled shout ringing in his ears. Shaking his great, black furry head, Antonio looked up to see Lovino standing in the alleyway with a frightened look stricken across his face. He noticed Lovino was trembling and he could smell Lovino's fear thick in the dank city air.

He blearly got to his feet, still disoriented from the transformation, and tried to approach Lovino. But for each step he took forward, Lovino took a step back. Antonio growled in frustration but this only cause Lovino to shriek and run for the back door. A cold claw gripped Antonio's insides and he leaped forward, pinning Lovino under him.

He couldn't let Lovino go, something deep inside of him made him so very fearful of Lovino leaving. Whether it the fear of not having the chance to explain himself to Lovino or the paranoia that he would disappear from Antonio's sights for another 7 years, something made the leopard Antonio pin down the man as he would prey and snap his jaws threateningly in Lovino's face.

Lovino became oddly calm once he was pinned down and was now muttering a soft prayer under his breath as his hypnotic hazel eyes were closed tightly in an effort to will away his surroundings.

Lovino's eyes finally snapped open after a few minutes and the gaze he directed toward the animal on top of him was described at best, annoyance mixed with a murderous intent.

A weighing guilt settled on Antonio's chest as he registered the flickering fear that still flashed in Lovino's eyes behind his fiery will.

'Oh, Lovino,' Antonio thought as he pulled his head back and lowered his lips to cover his deadly jaws.

"Antonio?" Lovino asked hesitantly as his gaze flickered in surprise and darted about as though the Spaniard would materialize nearby.

Antonio stilled. Did Lovino hear him? He couldn't possibly have... but...

'Lovino? Can you hear me?' he asked tentatively in his mind as his large head drew close to rub against Lovino's cheek affectionately.

"Yeah, bastard. Where are you! There is a giant cat on me and it's going to kill me, you idiot!" Lovino's voice wavered as he felt Antonio's soft, black fur against his cheek, but thankfully the fear was gone from his tone.

There was a long silence and Antonio could smell Lovino's fear and panic rising up again.

" Antonio? Antonio! Help me!"

'I..,' Antonio paused and stepped off of Lovino as he whined apologetically. He hoped Lovino wouldn't run away again,' Lovino, I am the cat.'

Lovino paused as he dusted off his pants," You're what?"

Tail flickering side to side, Antonio fixed his forest green eyes onto Lovino's hazel ones and uttered calmly,' I'm a leopard...'

A look of utter disbelief took ahold of Lovino's expression and he back away slowly from Antonio.

" You've got to be f*cking kidding me. This isn't funny."

' It isn't a joke,' Antonio answered as he put a paw forward as to follow Lovino but then stopped, not wanting the look of fear to return to Lovino's beautiful eyes. ' It's not my voice you're hearing, it's my thoughts.''

With that last line, Lovino's self-control snapped and he turned and fled out of the alleyway. His eyes were tightly shut as he ran blindly, wishing that every Antonio he met didn't cause him so much trouble.

Antonio was powerless to stop Lovino's flight. Sure, he could have overtaken Lovino's lead and pinned the man down again but then what? Force Lovino to stay with him 24/7? Have Lovino hate and fear him for the rest of his life?

The fact of the matter was... Antonio never had a guarantee that Lovino would stay now that he found him. He had blindly put his hope and trust on a Lovino he met years ago. A kind, lion-hearted Lovino who defended him from a terrible danger even though he suffered physical harm because Antonio couldn't save him. A dream Lovino who had captured Antonio's aspirations and gave him a goal to seek , something to find and protect,in the dark days after his mother's death.

He should have known better.

Shoulders sagging, Antonio crumpled to the concrete and let out a low snarl of anger at himself. Even now, he couldn't bring himself to be angry at Lovino. Afterall, Lovino had only reacted as a normal person would to the supernatural. It was Antonio who was at fault here.


Eventually as Antonio laid there limply on the concrete, he changed back to his human form and felt the soft warmth of his fur disappear. His clothes were, as expected, in tatters and his joints ached from lying in such an uncomfortable position. Stretching, he stood up with his usual languid ease but his mouth was set tight into a grim line.

It hadn't occurred to him while he was busy with Lovino and thoughts of Lovino but it suddenly struck him how odd his transformation was.

He had always, ever since he hit puberty, been able to control or at least delay his transformations. Never had he changed forms in public or in school. So why then? Why in front of Lovino?

His green eyes flickered as he tried to not remember Lovino's fearful face, but the question continued to nag at him. Shaking his head, Antonio collected his wallet from a wet puddle where he had lost it. His steps heavy with loss of purpose, Antonio trudged home.


thanks for reading! It's shorter than usual but I want to move this story along.

Dubstepezio: I haven't seen Grimm so I didn't base it off of it. But it sounds like an interesting show.

Many thanks to: elizabeta H. Austria, Book Thief101, Spamano4ever, Sakurazero, 2degreesabovefreezing, and pandahero2P for continuing to encourage my story cause tbh, I am so lazy.

Please review! And maybe they'll get back together...