The fact that Arthur had been staring at him from the moment he got on stage didn't go unnoticed by Antonio. In fact, it had been a little unnerving in the beginning. It wasn't until Gilbert brought up the fact that Lovino was smiling softly to his dance partner as charmingly as humanly possible while Ludwig was blushing red up to the tip of his ears that the Spaniard found himself forgetting the blonde singer on stage in favor of watching his little cousin and Gilbert's younger brother having fun on the night of their winter formal.
Soon, though, a hand is placed a little harder than necessary on the German's shoulder and an English accented voice sounds in Antonio's ear. He turns to face Gilbert and the man he knows as Arthur only because he's becoming more and more famous and he knows his best friend.
"What are you doing at a kid's formal, Gil?" Arthur grins at the pale man.
"I'm here to listen to you and your perfect music, of course." Gilbert replies sarcastically but laughs. "I'm here as a chaperon along with Antonio."
Antonio jumps a little as Arthur's eyes are redirected onto him, "Antonio, huh? I'm Arthur." The Englishman removes his hand off of his friend's shoulder and extends it for the Spaniard to take.
"I know." Antonio answers, looking curiously at the other as they shake hands. "Gilbert has mentioned you."
Arthur hums as if what he has been told doesn't matter-his eyes a fierce green that seems to pierce through Antonio's soul and the Spaniard is sure that only the two of them exist to the Englishman- and turns to Gilbert. "Got a fag?"
The laughter that passes past Gilbert's lips earns him a smack on the back of the head after his carton of cigarettes are taken away.
Antonio can't help but chuckle at Gilbert and watch Arthur walk away towards the exit that leads directly outside to the side of the building. His curiosity grows; he begins to wonder why Arthur had watched him throughout the show.
Should he follow?
Glancing around, he finds that Gilbert has left him in order to talk to Eliza, one of the teachers that worked at the school.
Well if Gilbert can socialize, so can he.
It was darker by the side of the building than in the front, but Antonio can clearly make out Arthur's silhouette not far from the door. The Briton's back is to him, but he still somehow knows it is Antonio who stands behind him.
"Want one?" Arthur hands Antonio the carton of cigarettes without so much as giving him a glance.
The Spaniard, though not really a smoker, wordlessly accepts one and stares at the stars in the sky just as Arthur has been doing since he walked outside.
Antonio is the first to speak after a while of a comfortable silence and eventually they spend the whole night outside; talking, laughing, and getting to know one another.
By the end of the formal, Gilbert finds them sitting a little too close on the slightly wet-and very cold- grass outside and interrupts them by kneeling in the middle of both of them and wrapping his arms around their shoulders.
Three years later, Antonio speaks at Arthur's 26th birthday party; he tells their friends and family of the night of the Winter formal where he met Arthur, the night he met his best friend, and the first time he fell in love with the beautiful, fierce green eyes of his lover of two years.
The same eyes that watched him from the stage and told Antonio more than any words could.
AN: I've been busy, sorry.
