Chapter Four

The next day, I'm not quite sure how I keep my heart from tearing itself out of my chest and flying smack into Antonio as I serve him breakfast. Seeing him makes my heart race so fast I feel light-headed, and I fucking hate it! ...A little bit...

I don't look him in the eye throughout the whole of that day, even though he tries to make eye-contact a couple times. I am just not having it, at all! I don't want to do this anymore, I just decided last night, when I was going to sleep. My main priority at the moment is getting Feli into Supein, not dating Antonio-or should I go back to referring to him as Principe now that we're no closer than master and servant?

But really... how close are master and servant, when you think about it?

Well, it doesn't fucking matter, because I'm not fucking doing it anymore, at all, so there, in your fucking face Antonio!

So, you kind of have to wonder why exactly I still go to his room when he rings for me. I still knock softly on the door, walk inside, call him an asshole, then start furiously making out with him. This time, we're on his bed, not the floor, and it's much more comfortable. I feel a little braver tonight than I did last night, so I let him take off my shirt. It's just my torso, I tell myself, but that gives him a lot more room to move...

But nothing happens. We both stop just before anything can, and we just lay next to each other on his bed, breathing hard. I try to resist the urge to snuggle up to him-sadly, I've snuggled with my brother one too many times, and now I like it. He looks over at me, and I look over at him, and then he reaches and pulls me to his chest.

"Tomato bastard." I mutter into his shirt. He laughs, and starts gently running his fingers through my hair. He leans down and kisses me on the forehead, and I feel my heart speed up. Damn him, he's just so...
"Asshole," I murmur sleepily as he begins rubbing circles in my back. He just smiles as I quickly fall asleep.

I wake up early the next morning, if you can even call it that. It's still dark outside. I did this on purpose so that I could move to my room in the middle of the night and not wake anyone up.

I stand up and search around for my fucking shirt-damn this darkness, how's anyone supposed to see?-and finally find it nearly underneath the bed. I walk to the door, quietly step outside and walk down the hall to the goddamn stairs, then to my room. I change into different clothes-ones that don't smell like Antonio- then climb into bed. I fall asleep instantly.

I wake up just as the sun is rising to the morning bell. Groaning, I somehow manage to get my ass out of bed, then shuffle to the door and slam it open, ready to chew whoever decided to ring that god forsaken bell to itty bitty pieces. I stop in the kitchen, confused. Everyone is running around like beheaded chickens, freaking out and trying to cook or clean or something, but too freaked out to do anything.

I grab the first thing I find-a big, plump tomato-and throw it at the cook, who I especially hate. It splats against her head and she screams, making everyone stop instantly.

"What the fuck is going on here?" I ask, pissed off. No one answers. "I said," I start again. "What the fuck is going on here?"

"Th-the P-prince's f-fiance is c-coming." A small servant boy stammers fearfully.

"Finally, someone answers-wait, WHAT?!" I shout. "FIANCE? Dammit all, no one ever told me about this! Fuck it all, I'm going back to bed!" I stomp back to my room, throw myself under the covers, and try, in vain, to go back to fucking sleep. Aw, fuck the world, and fuck Antonio, and his goddamn fiance, and all the powers that be and make this come to pass, and, you know what? Fuck horses for good measure.

I don't know how long I stay in bed, but it's long enough that by the time I get up it's because I feel like I'm dying of hunger. I go to the kitchens, grab some bread and cheese, then go and bother the cook, asking when Antonio's fiance is supposed to be coming. I don't actually call him Antonio though, I call him fucking tomato bastard, just so that she won't think I've gotten close to him or anything,

"A fortnight," she tells me tiredly. "we have to start preparing now, though, cleaning up her room, and the castle, stocking up on the food she likes, all that jazz. And then, once she's here, it'll take another week for them to actually get married."

Three weeks, I think to myself. Three weeks to stop this. Three weeks. I give her a nod. "Asshole," I tell her, more to stick to my reputation than anything else. Then I leave, back up the servant's stairs and to Antonio's room. And you can bet good, good cash on the fact that I will be getting a goddamn answer.

I walk up to the door and knock on it, hard, not caring if he's still asleep or something stupid like that. He's not, though, because the door opens. I cross my arms and raise my eyebrows at him, just looking at him. He looks right back at me, for once not smiling idiotically.

"Romano, what are you doing here?" he asks, sounding vaguely nervous, like I'm planning on gutting him or something.

"I didn't know you had a fiance," I say with false sweetness. "Where's she from? Is she pretty?"

He scratches the back of his head. "Um, about that... I don't actually want to, um, marry, you know... anyone but you-" My heart stops beating for a couple of seconds. "-but, well, I kind of... have to. I mean, she comes from the kingdom we're at war with, and this will be like a peace treaty, and-"

"You have a sister." I point out. "And I know for a fact that Turc has a Prince too."

His eyes light up as if he's just realized something. "Oh! Oh, yeah! Now that you point that out, you're right, aren't you?"

"I'm always right, tomato bastard." I say, rolling my eyes.

"It still doesn't change anything though," he tells me solemnly. "This engagement is set in stone, and I mean that literally. Both kingdoms literally set it in stone."

I facepalm. "Is everyone as stupid as you are?" I ask.

He smiles. "Yes." He grabs me and pulls me into the room, holding me close to him. "I meant what I said earlier." he tells me seriously.

"About how everyone is as stupid as you are?"

"About how I don't want to marry anyone but you." My heart once again stops.

"Boys don't marry boys," I say, just repeating what I told Feli all those years ago.

"I don't care." He begins to kiss me, starting at my forehead, then traveling down my face and to my neck, unbuttoning my shirt as he goes so that he can go down farther and farther and farther...

A/N So, you will be seeing more of the plotline soon... O.O

P.S. Just read all of your reviews... if I could grab a picture of my face right then to show you, I would, but for now, I'll just tell you that I was giggling manically with my hand shoved over my mouth, and a creepy, France look on my face. :) Anyways, thanks for the reviews, you guys make me want to, I dunno, go hide under a bench and yell at people who sit on it.