A/N: This is my secret santa fic for LadyInfierno! The prompt was Gil as a babysitter for the cute little Italians.
Gilbert didn't watch the kids next door because he needed the money. Of course, that was the answer he gave whenever someone might tease him, but the reality was that he just liked kids. More than that, Lovino and Feliciano were special.
Sometimes he would bring his own little brother with him. Ludwig and Feliciano were both seven, and though Ludwig was much more awkward about expressing his fondness, they were best friends. Gilbert liked seeing his little brother happy, especially when he had a hand in it.
And then there was Lovino. He was only ten, three years younger than Gilbert, but it was easy to see that he was going to become a charming person. He had bright hazel eyes and a brighter smile, and he was full of life and passion and a fiery temper. He could be a handful at time, but his sweet moments more than made up for it in Gilbert's eyes.
He was supposed to watch them again tonight. It meant cancelling plans to play video games with his friends, but he could live with that. Seeing the Italians' bright, smiling faces was almost as good as racking up an impressive score, and more than that, he hated the thought of someone else spending all that time with them. He wanted to be special to them.
He was pulling on his jacket when Ludwig tugged at his sleeve with his small, pudgy hand. His big blue eyes stared up at his older brother, and Gilbert already knew that whatever Luddy was about to ask, it was an automatic yes.
"Can I come with?" he asked in his quiet, steady voice. Though he was young, Ludwig had a terrific grasp on grammar and such. It filled Gilbert with pride every time he thought about how smart his brother would grow up to be.
"Of course, bud," he agreed, grinning and getting the little blond's coat out for him. Ludwig put it on without help, then reached out for the hand Gilbert offered. The older boy called out to their mother that they were leaving, and then they headed next door.
The first thing to greet them was Feliciano's squeal of happiness. The little brunette blur came flying out of nowhere, throwing his tiny arms around Ludwig's neck first. Ludwig stumbled back, surprised, but after a moment he hugged his friend back tentatively. Gilbert grinned at them for a moment, then turned his attention to the boy's mother.
"Thanks for doing this again," Chiara Vargas sighed, offering him a smile. She seemed tired, but happy-she probably deserved a night off.
"It's nothing," Gilbert assured her with a grin, shoving his hands into his pockets, "Have a good time."
She smiled, fiddling with a few aspects of her appearance as she waited for her husband. In the interim, Feliciano finally let go of Ludwig and dashed to the bottom of the stairs.
"Lovi!" he called up, "Gilbert's here!"
Gilbert noticed he didn't mention Ludwig, but then, Lovino had never been very fond of the younger boy. That probably had something to do with the fact that he and Feliciano had once been as fascinated with him as they still were with Gilbert. Lovino was the type of person who needed space, and excitable, curious kids tended to be clingy.
The other Italian appeared at the top of the stairs a few moments later, his round cheeks flushing at the sight of their babysitter. Gilbert wanted to squeal and pinch those adorable cheeks, but that would totally ruin the image he had going as a professional. A young professional, but still. The point was, he had a reputation to uphold.
"Alright, I guess we're ready!" Chiara chirped finally, interrupting before Gilbert could even greet Lovino. The albino straightened up with a grin, ready to see them out. Lovino waved shyly from the top of the stairs, and Feliciano flew in for last-minute goodbye hugs. It was kind of adorable how affectionate the younger brunette was.
Finally, they were gone, and Lovino began to make his way tentatively down the stairs. Gilbert smiled at him invitingly-he'd noticed how well Lovino reacted to positive reinforcement, and he liked being a source of it. In return, Lovino offered him one of his shy, sweet smiles. Internally, Gilbert squealed at how cute he was. Sometimes, he thought Lovino was even cuter than Feliciano, though few people seemed to share his opinion.
"Hey, Lovi. How've you been?" he asked, ruffling the older brother's dark hair. Lovino fixed it with his short fingers, but he didn't scowl like Gil had seen him do when other people did that.
"M'good," he murmured, reaching for Gilbert's hand and clinging to it. He let him; it was nice to have a sign of affection like that. He knew Lovino was intelligent and well-spoken, but when he was feeling shy, he tended to use incomplete sentences and slur his words together. "Made you something."
At that, a bright grin split Gilbert's face. A present from Lovino was rare, definitely something to be cherished.
"Really? Do I get it now, or do I have to wait for Christmas?" he asked. Christmas was only a few days away, but he couldn't help but be excited about this.
Lovino's cheeks colored again, but he also smiled again.
"Y-you can have it now," he murmured, releasing Gilbert's hand. He hurried back up the stairs, Gilbert's eyes fixed affectionately on his back. That kid was special; of that much he was sure.
While he waited, he kept an eye on Ludwig and Feliciano. The little Italian had dragged him off to see his new puzzle. It was a mess right now, but from the box tossed over by the wall, Gilbert could see that it was a scene from the Wizard of Oz-Dorothy sleeping among the poppies. It was bright and soft, and Gilbert couldn't help but think that that kind of thing suited Feliciano.
After a bit, Lovino's soft footsteps echoed off the stairs again. Gilbert greeted him with a smile, curious about the piece of paper he could see fluttering behind the younger boy's back.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Lovino hesitated again. His cheeks were bright red, and he kept his gaze on his feet. Gilbert's heart fluttered at how unbearably cute the whole display was. he crouched down so he was on the same level as the younger boy, smiling at him encouragingly.
"Can I see it?" he asked hopefully, holding out his hand. Lovino's blush deepened until Gilbert was afraid he'd pass out, but then he nodded. He brought the paper out and laid it carefully in Gilbert's hand, which surprised the older boy-normally when Lovino was like this, he smashed things into Gilbert's palm.
He looked at the paper, oohing and ahhing over it appropriately. He could there were figures, but it was done in watercolor and the paint had run until he wasn't sure what exactly the people were supposed to be doing. Finally, Lovino pointed a pudgy finger at two figures smiling-or at least, Gilbert assumed they were supposed to be smiling.
"S'me an' you," Lovino informed him, doing that shy-slurring thing again. Gilbert smiled brightly, opening his arms in hopes of a hug.
"Thank you. I love it," he assured him, completely sincere.
Lovino stepped forward and hugged him, hiding his face in Gilbert's shoulder. For a moment, Gilbert thought that would be it. It was already a big step, seeing as Lovino wasn't too big on physical contact. He let go when he felt Lovino release him, but the younger boy didn't leave completely. Instead, he stopped, his big eyes fixed on Gilbert's face.
Then he leaned in for a kiss, going for the lips.
Gilbert couldn't help but pull back, surprised. He'd never expected something so bold from Lovino, especially not something of that nature. Still, now that he thought about it, it made sense. Lovino let him get away with things he wouldn't let even his own parents do.
As Gilbert pulled away. Lovino's expression crumpled. He blinked rapidly, but fat, shiny tears still gathered in his eyes and dribbled down his cheeks. Guilt settled like a stone in his stomach; he hated seeing someone he cared about like this.
"Hey, no, don't cry," he begged, wiping away Lovino's tears with gentle fingers, "Y-you just...you surprised me, is all."
"But...but I gave you a present," Lovino whimpered, "Papa always gives mama a kiss after he gives her a present. And then they say they love each other."
Gilbert blinked at that. He glanced over at Ludwig and Feliciano again, relieved to see that they were still wrapped up in their own little world. He gave Lovino his complete attention, a gentle smile crossing his features.
"Yeah, but...your mom and dad are adults. We're kids, and kids don't really do that kind of thing," he explained as gently as he could. At least that gave Lovino a more concrete reason why he couldn't kiss Gilbert. By the time he was "old enough," he probably wouldn't want to kiss Gilbert anymore. The thought kind of hurt, but he just assumed that was because he was a little starved for attention himself.
"But...I love you," Lovino replied, wiping at his eyes himself now. Gilbert could tell he was wavering though; it would take only a little more prompting to get him to give up entirely.
"Y-yeah, but...If you tell me that when you're older, it's like...more important. Like you have to go through some stuff before you can kiss somebody like that," he explained, a bit wildly, "I-it's like a quest in a video game!"
Lovino just blinked at him at that. "I don't play video games. Feli likes them more."
Gilbert bit back a sigh and sat back. He didn't know what else to say right now. Maybe if he had a moment to gather his thoughts...
"Can I hug you?" Lovino asked after a moment, breaking into his musings again. Gilbert blinked, then grinned and nodded.
"Yeah, of course! Hugs are fine all the time!" he laughed, opening his arms for Lovino. The younger boy stepped into them again, making Gilbert's heart flutter. Two hugs in one night felt like some kind of record with Lovino.
"Here, I'll tell you what," he murmured, reeling at his words before he even spoke and still unable to stop himself, "When we grow up, I'll marry you if you still love me. How's that?" He could feel Lovino nod, but more prominent was the pounding of his own heart.
"Can we watch a movie?" Feliciano called over suddenly, breaking into their moment. Gilbert blushed, though he didn't know why, and pulled back, nodding.
"Yeah, sure," he agreed, "You have something in mind?" He stood and took Lovino's hand, leading him over to where his brother and Gilbert's had been playing. Lovino ignored them both, still watching Gilbert as Feliciano handed him a DVD case. Gilbert put it in as Ludwig and Feliciano scrambled onto the couch. Lovino stayed standing until Gilbert sat, then crawled into his lap.
Well, he could live with that.
They grew up and grew apart, just like anyone else. Gilbert couldn't help but be disappointed when Lovino decided he was too old to sit in his lap anymore, but it was to be expected. It almost felt like a personal offense when they didn't need a babysitter anymore, leaving him without much an excuse to see Lovino anymore. Feliciano and Ludwig stayed close friends, but the three years between him and Lovino seemed too far to bridge for a long time. Lovino became closed off to him, and Gilbert was surprised by the loss he felt. Still, it hurt worse when Lovino went off to college without so much as a word to him.
Their contact over the next five years was sporadic at best. Every time Gilbert saw Lovino, he was struck again by how beautiful he'd grown up to be. Sometimes, he wondered if Lovino was the reason he wasn't straight. He constantly thought back to the night he'd tried to kiss him as children and wondered if he could have done something differently, something that would have put Lovino in his life now.
He hadn't seen him for almost four months before the day in came into the auto shop where Gilbert worked. At first, he didn't realize who it was-it was just another pair of shoes tapping out the pattern of someone's gait as he focused on the undercarriage above him. He had one earbud in, bobbing his head along slightly. At first, he didn't notice when the footsteps came to a stop near him.
"So, do you just not care who comes to stare at your junk while you work?" a familiar voice asked suddenly.
Pulled out of the zone he was in, Gilbert blinked a few times and slid partly out from under the car. He jerked the earbud out, gaping up at the Italian leaning against the car. After a moment, he remembered how to speak.
"Lovi! Hey," he laughed awkwardly, earning an eye roll. Damn, Lovino had gotten good at that. If there was a category in the Olympics for eye rolling, he might even win the gold.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. He stayed on his back, figuring that if he fainted, at least he wouldn't have to fall. He tried to remember the last time he and Lovino had spoken. Over Christmas, he might have yelled something about the dogs causing a stink in the neighborhood...Lovino had developed a bitchy streak wider than his entire body.
Suddenly, Lovino looked shy. It brought back memories of him as a child, which tugged at Gilbert's heart. He'd never really gotten over that cute little kid who seemed to think the world of him.
"Just...wanted to ask you something..." he admitted finally, falling back into that mumble-and-slur Gilbert remembered so well. So he'd never grown out of that either, huh?
"Yeah?" he prompted gently, watching the Italian's face. There was still a little baby fat in his cheeks, but his features were beautiful and delicate, and his tan skin looked soft and flawless. Gilbert mentally cursed himself, knowing these observations would find themselves in his dreams for years to come.
"That promise you made..." Lovino mumbled finally, and somehow Gilbert knew exactly what he was talking about, "You ever intend to make good on that?"
Gilbert sat up so fast, he whacked his head on the runner of the car. He swore and held a hand protectively over the spot, but most of his attention was focused on staring up at Lovino in shock. The brunette's cheeks colored a fantastic shade of red, and Gilbert remembered all his old worries about Lovino passing out from the rushes of blood.
"You...you still wanna marry me?" he asked. He didn't bother to hide his surprise-he and Lovino weren't exactly on bad terms, but they'd hardly had any contact in years.
Lovino blushed even deeper somehow, digging the toe of his shiny dress shoe into the dirt on the shop floor. Gilbert just stared silently, waiting for his answer. The silence seemed to drag, broken only by the clink of metal tools, but Gilbert didn't feel the need to break it or save Lovino from its awkwardness.
"Well...Maybe marriage is a bit forward," he finally admitted shyly, "But I...I was kind of hoping you might consider dating me?"
Gilbert continued to stare for a moment, but then his expression softened into a smile. He got to his feet, making Lovino shrink back nervously. Had he always been this much taller, or had Lovino just not grown much? He seemed tiny now.
"I thought you'd forgotten that," he admitted, "Or at the very least, you didn't want it anymore. Why are you bringing it up now?"
Lovino shrugged, but after a moment, he took a deep breath. "I'm graduating soon. I...just thought that was a good time to get back to what I...really want."
Gilbert smiled and opened his arms. Just like he'd done that night. And just like that night, Lovino stepped into them, burying his face in Gilbert's shoulder.
"Have I earned the right to kiss you yet?" he asked after a moment.
Gilbert just chuckled and tilted his head down, allowing Lovino to finally, finally press their lips together.