It had been a bright and sunny day in Madrid. Though, Lovino couldn't help but think about how ironic for it to be so beautiful outside while he was feeling like total crap. Yes, you can already probably guess why he was feeling so down. Earlier that day, Lovino had taken a pregnancy test and surprise, surprise! It was negative. Lovino never really got his hopes up but there was a small part of him that believed maybe he'd be pregnant. That maybe the test would be positive. However, like always, it was negative. So, Lovino, who was devastated, pulled himself together to go about his day and take care of his son.
Even Alessandro could see the sudden mood change in his mother. He remembered Lovino going upstairs with a box then coming back down minuets later empty handed and sad. It was odd but Alessandro had learned through the many mistakes of his father not to question Lovino so much especially when the Italian was in such a mood. So the little boy, even though he was curious, said nothing about his mother's behavior.
Hours seemed to fly by and before either of them knew it, the front door clicked open. Alessandro instantly knew it was his father seeing as though it was about 5:00pm. The little nation abandoned his crayons and juice box to greet the Spaniard at the door.
"¡Hola papí!" Ale said with a bright smile.
Antonio stood in front of him by the door, taking off his jacket. He returned the smile as he hung it up on the coat rack.
"¡Buenas tardes, mijo!" Antonio spoke cheerfully.
Alessandro's smile faded once he remembered his mothers strange behavior. He knew not to pry but maybe his father needed to know. Maybe Antonio, who, as Ale saw it, seemed to know how to fix any problem, could help.
"¿Ale, qué paso?" Antonio asked.
The little boy shifted indecisively but figured maybe the matter was worth bringing up.
"Mama's sad." Alessandro told him.
Antonio knelt down to Ale's level, curious as to what he was talking about.
"Sad? Why is mama sad?" Antonio asked.
"Yo no sé." Alessandro answered. "I saw his eyes all red and puffy earlier. I think mama was crying."
The Spaniard thought about what could be troubling his lover. After a second or two of thinking, he had come to the conclusion that maybe Lovino had taken another pregnancy test and it had come up negative. He would go ask the Italian but first he assured Alessandro that Lovino would be fine and that he shouldn't worry. Alessandro, who was a tad bit skeptical, went along with it and simply uttered an 'okay'. After his little talk with Ale, Antonio got up and made his way to the kitchen where Lovino was most likely cooking.
When Antonio walked in, he was instantly greeted by an aroma of spices and signature Italian dishes. Lovino held a small knife in his hand as he chopped away at a vegetable on the counter.
"Hola, mi corazón." Antonio greeted.
"Ciao." Lovino replied flatly with out even looking up.
"How are you feeling, Lovi?" Antonio asked, walking over to Lovino.
The Italian muttered out a, "Fine."
"Lovi, what's wrong?" Antonio questioned.
Asking Lovino questions was like walking on thin ice. You never really knew when the the ice would break and in this case, you never know when Lovino would snap and go off. He didn't like for people to try and pry into his feelings.
"Nothing's wrong." Lovino said as he focused on what he was cutting like it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.
"Lovino." Antonio said. "I know when something's bothering you. I've known you for plenty of centuries to see that something's wrong."
Lovino let out an annoyed sigh. "I'm not pregnant."
Now, Antonio was deciding on what he should say back. It seemed like every time he heard those words from his lover, he felt a sharp pain of hurt in his chest. Though, right now, he was much more concerned on how Lovino felt. As he went to speak, he was cut off by a small sniffle from Lovino.
"Oh, Lovi don't cry." Antonio said softly.
"I-I'm not crying." Lovino replied in a shaky voice as he wiped his tearing eyes. "I just got a.. a bit of p-parsely in my eyes."
Antonio wrapped his arms around Lovino when he put the knife down. Lovino didn't say anything, he only buried his face into Antonio's chest as he cried silently. The Spaniard could only hold his lover and mutter soft words of comfort to help him feel better. Antonio hated to see Lovino like this, vulnerable and broken. It took a few minuets but Lovino's tears came to a stop and he pulled back slightly to look up at Antonio.
"Sorry- I didn't mean to get all emotional." Lovino apologized.
"Mi amor, you have nothing to apologize for." Antonio assured him with a small smile. "Lovi I think maybe we should go to the doctor."
Lovino was silent for a moment then nodded once in agreement. "I think so too."
"She'll probably give us medicine and then before you'll know it, we'll have another little one around the house." Antonio said.
"We can only hope." Lovino replied to which Antonio kissed his cheek.
Antonio had called and made them an appointment for the following day. After scheduling the appointment, he called a certain someone to come and babysit for a few hours.
"Antonio hurry up or we'll be late!" Lovino called out.
No reply.
Lovino groaned as he stood by the door and leaned against one of the walls.
"Mama." Ale said, walking into the small hallway with his ragged teddy bear in hand. "Do you really have to go?"
"Ale, papí and I will only be gone for a little while." Lovino assured him.
"But I don't want you to go." Alessandro pouted.
"Bambino, we'll be back before you know it." Lovino said. "Besides, someone you love very much is coming to watch you while we're gone."
"Someone I love?" Ale wondered. "Is it Zio Feli?"
"Nope." Lovino grinned.
"Tio Ludwig?"
"Guess again."
"..Hm Zio Romeo!"
A knock at the door in front of them interrupted their conversation. Lovino leaned over and opened the door with the twist of a knob.
"Ola!"
"¡Tio!" Alessandro exclaimed.
"Oh look it's my favorite nephew!" Alvarez smiled.
The Portuguese nation walked over and scooped his nephew up in a big hug. Lovino shut the door while Alvarez attacked the little boy's face in playful kisses.
"Oh and hi to you too." Lovino said sarcastically.
"Sorry." Alvarez chuckled as he put Alessandro down. "How's it going?"
"Could be better." Lovino replied honestly. "It could be even more better if your brother wasn't taking so long. I swear it's like he's applying his make up or something."
"I'm ready, let's go." Antonio announced as he walked into the occupied hallway.
Alvarez walked over to his brother and ruffled up his hair. "What's up?"
"Nothing I guess." Antonio said as he attempted to fix his hair again.
"You take so long to get ready." Lovino complained. "Come on. Ale, remember, be a good boy for tio and don't give him a hard time."
"Ah he's a good kid, he could never give me hard time." Alvarez said.
Antonio thought back to all the tantrums Alessandro had thrown over the last couple of years when he didn't get his way. If he was angry or upset he definitely took after Lovino. "You obviously haven't seen what happens when you make him upset."
Before Alvarez could ask his brother to elaborate on that, Lovino grabbed the Spaniard's arm and complained once again about being late. The two said their good byes and their I love you's to their son then headed out the door and to the doctor's office.
"¡Buenos Dias!" A friendly, familiar voice greeted.
Both Antonio and Lovino turned their attention to the Spanish woman at the door. Doctor Sanchez sent them a signature smile as she closed the door behind her. Lovino could feel his insides twist in knots, his hands felt slightly shaky and his mind raced with thoughts. It was like he was reliving those dreadful moments in the doctors office some seven years ago.
"¿Dondé está el niño?" Doctor Sanchez asked before she took her seat in front of them.
"Oh Ale's at home with my brother." Antonio answered.
"Portugal, right? Well tell the niño I said hi." She said with a smile. "Now, what brings you two by?"
Lovino glanced to Antonio to explain like he always did.
"Lovino and I want to have another baby. We were wondering if there was anything you could do to help." Antonio answered.
The doctor looked over a chart she had which presumably contained information on the two like medical records. It was silent for a few seconds and Lovino hated the tension. After thinking over some options, doctor Sanchez spoke up.
"Okay so, I'll do an ultrasound on Lovino and take some blood from him as well. We'll see what we can do from there, I want to be sure if you two still need medication and at what dosage." She explained. "Sounds good?"
The couple nodded in unison. Within a matter of minutes, doctor Sanchez had taken two vials of Lovino's blood for testing. Antonio had covered his eyes the whole time, he hated needles. After the blood tests, doctor Sanchez dropped off the samples to analysts in the next room. When she returned, she promptly told Lovino to lay down on the examination table. The Italian did as he was told and lifted up his shirt over his still somewhat chubby belly. Damn baby weight.
"Okay so this is going to be a little cold as you know." Doctor Sanchez warned.
The doctor squeezed the gel over Lovino's abdomen then pressed that familiar wand against his skin. She prodded and ran the wand over until she got a clear view of his ovaries. Lovino hated the feelings of déjà vu he was getting from this experience. If Antonio felt the same way about this, his face clearly wasn't showing it. The Spaniard seemed to not show any emotion as he looked at the illuminated screen in front of them. Though Lovino knew Antonio didn't like showing emotions when it came to sadness, he was hard to read in times like this.
A few deadly silent minutes passed until doctor Sanchez declared she was all done with the ultrasound. Lovino cleaned himself off as she left the room for the blood sample results. There was even more silence when she left. Lovino didn't speak a word and it seemed Antonio wasn't up for conversation either. Who would be up to talk at a time like this?
Doctor Sanchez entered the room several minuets later flipping through a file of notes and paper.
"Okay so I've got a plan." She said as she sat down.
Both Antonio and Lovino were eager, no desperate, to hear it.
"Lovino it seems like your body is producing eggs at the same rate as last time. So I've decided to give you the same medication in the same dosage as last time. Now, you may have an easier time conceiving as some women find it easier to get pregnant the second time around or it may end up taking a while because of your infertility." She explained. "But of course there is also the slight chance that you may not even be able to get pregnant again, though I highly doubt that. So check in with me in two months and we'll see how the medicine has been working, okay?"
Lovino processed everything and simply gave her a nod. She handed Antonio the prescription paper and they went on their way.
After Lovino and Antonio had picked up the medicine from the pharmacy, they had gone straight home. They made idle conversation on the drive back but it was nothing too interesting. Lovino wasn't in the mood to talk no matter how much Antonio tried to cheer him up.
The moment they entered the house, Lovino walked upstairs and locked himself in their bedroom. Alvarez came walking over to his brother to greet him and ask him what was up.
"What's wrong with Lovino?" Alvarez asked. "He complains about me not greeting him so I come to say 'hi' and he just storms off "
"He's just stressed." Antonio said truthfully.
The Spaniard didn't think it would be a good idea to tell Alvarez about their plans for another baby so soon. He recalled how it took almost a year of them trying for a baby before he even told Francis or Gil about their plans for pregnancy the first time around.
"I'm guessing you did something stupid then, huh?" Alvarez joked.
So Antonio went along with it and showed a smile. "Yea you know how easy it is to make Lovino mad."
"That's true." Alvarez agreed. "By the way your kid is asleep on the couch."
Well if Alessandro was taking a siesta, Antonio would make dinner for when he'd wake up. It didn't look like Lovino was up for cooking. About an hour later, Alessandro woke up just as dinner was ready. He, Antonio and Alvarez ate together with cheerful conversation amongst them. Alessandro asked about his mother to which Antonio replied he was upstairs. After dinner, Alessandro struggled to stay awake and fight his sleep. He ended up falling asleep again while watching cartoons on the couch. Alvarez saw it as his time to leave so he said good bye to his brother and headed for home. While Antonio carried his son upstairs, he couldn't help but wonder if Lovino was okay in their room. Lovino had seemed pretty upset about their current situation, but who wouldn't be? He remembered, before they had Alessandro, the nights Lovino would lock himself in the bedroom to cry alone about a failed pregnancy test. He hoped tonight wasn't one of those nights, he couldn't stand to see Lovino cry.
After Antonio tucked Alessandro into bed with a quick kiss on his nose, the nation walked back to his shared room. To his surprise, the door was unlocked when he twisted the knob. The room was empty when he entered. It appeared Lovino was in their master bathroom. Antonio quickly and quietly gathered up his pajamas to wear after his shower. He figured he would shower in the bathroom outside of their room. The bathroom door in the room opened and Lovino stepped out while he dried off his washed hair with a towel. There were no signs of crying or sadness, Lovino seemed content.
"Lovi are you okay?" Antonio asked.
"Yea I'm fine." Lovino answered quite honestly.
"Its just that you stormed up here earlier and I was a bit worried." Antonio replied.
"No, I'm fine now." Lovino said. "I was just.. upset. I'm sorry if I over reacted by isolating myself."
"It's okay Lovi, there's no need to apologize, you can't help how you feel." Antonio assured him.
Lovino sat down on the bed and continued to dry his hair with a towel. "I.. I took some of that medicine."
"That's good, mi amor. We can try again whenever you're ready." Antonio told him, genuine kindness filling his voice.
"Okay."
With that, Antonio turned to enter the bathroom but before he could, Lovino spoke up.
"Thank you." Lovino said.
"For what?" Antonio asked curiously.
"You know.. for being a good husband through this and you know all that sentimental crap.. ti amo." Lovino's face heated up quickly and he tried to focus on something other than Antonio's stupidly cute smiling face.
"Aw Lovi, de nada. Te amo también." Antonio said.
"Okay now go take a shower I'm done being all emotional you know I hate feelings." Lovino told him.
Antonio walked over and kissed Lovino's cheek before leaving for the bathroom. Lovino's belly fluttered with butterflies, God he hated that love sick feeling sometimes. For a moment, he thought about everything that happened earlier in the day. He thought about how frustrated and how upset he was in their situation. But he wanted another baby, he really did. It wouldn't be easy but with Antonio by his side, Lovino knew they'd get through this again.
A/N: Okay, I know its been soooooo long but here's an update for you guys! As you can see, I haven't updated this summer at all, believe it or not, I was super busy and had to work all summer so I rarely found time for myself. Then I got writers block with this chapter and I re wrote it like three times so I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I tried to make it good though its kind of a filler chapter? I mean not really but it kinda has filler chapter vibes idk. Anywho , I'm going to try and update again soon if I don't, please be patient and know that I have NOT given up on this story. I've pretty much planned it all the way to the end so its getting done y'all. Oh and next chapter will be a cool world meeting chapter so look out for that! Thank you all for reading!
Review, Lovelies ~!
