"Alright, that's it for the night. See you guys tomorrow."

Finally, thought Lovino. Another day of work was over. But as he took off his chef hat and stepped out of the restaurant, he saw someone he really didn't expect to see at midnight in front of his restaurant.

Feli.

And she looked very troubled.

Lovino's mind started going at a thousand miles per hour. Had she discovered something? Did the blasted doctor call her and tell her?

He swallowed hard before speaking.

"Uhm... Ciao, Feli. How... uhm... good to see you he..."

He couldn't finish his sentence. As soon as Feli saw him, she sprinted to him full force, tackled him in a hug and started crying in his chest.

Lovino's mind short-circuited right then.

She knows! Was the only thing running through his mind.

"Lovi, Lovi, veee, I need to talk to you! Please! It's urgent!"

Lovino swallowed hard yet again. He tried not to stutter as he spoke.

"I.. sure, I guess. Come in the restaurant. No one's here now. We can … uhm … talk there."

Feli let him out of the hug and nodded, sniffing all the while.

Lovino made her sit down and quickly made some hot tea for the two of them. Feli took her cup and smiled her thank you. Even if she was crying.

Lovino on the other hand was already starting to look for excuses. What should he say?

Whatever, it's not like it's that serious anyway.

Mind your own fucking business.

Get off my case, I'll be fine.

I did it because I didn't want to make you guys worry about me.

I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to cry.

Please forgive me.

Shit. None of those would work. Feli was going to be so disappointed in him, and she would surely tell Antonio, and then Antonio would be torn between killing him with his bare hands or beheading him with an axe. Well, one thing was for sure. If Feli knew, then there was no way in Hell that Lovino would stay. He'd just catch the first train going somewhere and wait to die somewhere on his own.

If that happened, then all his effort until then would become useless.

Shit, shit, shit.

He swallowed (again) and tried to sound normal when he spoke.

"So, uhm... what's the matter, Feli?"

Feli sniffled again. She was looking at her cup and it seemed she had no intention of speaking. But in the end she did.

"I'm in trouble, Lovi. Ve, I messed up real bad."

Lovino suddenly felt ten years younger. She had not found out! She had no idea! She was worried about something else! Yes! Whatever that was, there surely would a solution!

Lovino allowed himself a discreet air-punch while Feli was focused on her cup.

"Oh! Okay then! Don't worry, I'm sure it's not that bad. What's it about?"

It was Feli's turn to swallow now.

"I didn't do it on purpose, I swear. Ve, it just happened, I still don't know how I could have been this stupid! Oh God!"

She took her head in her hands.

"Ludwig is going to be furious when he finds out. No, ve, he will be disappointed. That's even worse! How can I tell him?"

Lovino thought that he must be hearing things. Judging by the way Feli was talking, it sounded as if she had done something really, really stupid. Like cheating on the macho potato. Which simply couldn't happen, since Feli was so in love with the potato. But, if the way she was speaking was anything to go by...

Lovino held silent for a bit.

"Feli... how can you tell him what? I have no idea what you are talking about here."

Feli sniffed again. Then a new bout of tears hit her.

"Ve, I don't know how it happened! Ludwig's right, I'm an airhead! I can't do anything right! There's no solution to this! There's nothing I can do! I got myself in a world of trouble! And Ludwig! He's gonna... he's gonna... I don't even know!"

Lovino let her cry for a bit. She surely had messed things up to be crying like that. But surely there was a solution. The potato bastard did love Feli, and if she was honest to him and told him the truth, whatever it was, he would forgive her. Maybe. Unless she had cheated on him with the older potato bastard, in which case, he had to admit, he'd understand if he never wanted to see Feli again. But that too was downright impossible... the older potato was smitten with his Hungarian girlfriend, Elizaveta...

Trying not to think about how "telling the truth" was the best solution, he decided that Feli had cried enough. And he was getting curious anyway.

"Alright, now that you've flooded this poor restaurant in tears, why don't you tell me what's wrong before I decide to swim home."

Feli stopped crying in the end. She took a deep sigh.

Lovino swallowed in anticipation.

Feli sighed again and looked down.

"I'm pregnant."

"You see, it's not that bad, you just apologize and... and... WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!"

Feli kept on looking down.

"You heard me."

She closed her eyes and hid her face in her hands. She had needed to tell someone, but maybe Lovino was not the best choice. Lovino would want to kill both Ludwig and herself. Lovino wouldn't be too happy about it. Lovino would start ranting about how young she was, and that she wasn't married yet, and that Ludwig was the worst father a poor kid could ever get and other terrible things.

"But... this... this is wonderful, Feli!"

Feli winced. "I know, I'm sorr..." then her brother's words sank in. "... what did you just say?" she asked, completely baffled.

Lovino got up from his chair and hugged Feli tight.

"This is wonderful! You're gonna have a baby! I'm gonna be an uncle! This is so cool! Everything will be alright! It's unexpected, but it's cool nonetheless! Just you wait till that macho potato knows! He'll be overjoyed, I'm sure! How far along are you? When did you discover it? You think it's a boy or a girl?"

Feli tried to breathe through the bear hug.

"Ung... Lovi... ve, I can't breath..."

Lovino released her at once. He was red in the face and was talking fast.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't want to crush you. But it's wonderful! You should be happy! There's no need to be anxious, you'll see, it'll be fine! How can it not be? You're going to be the best mom ever! I know it!"

Finally, Feli allowed herself a smile. Lovino's good mood and elated reaction made her feel like she had been worrying for nothing. Why had she been so scared about it?

"Ve, you're right! It'll be fine! I can do this! Ludwig will understand!"

Lovino flashed her a toothy grin.

"Course he will, just wait and see! And you can do it. You have it in you, I'm sure! You're going to have the most beautiful baby ever!"

then he added as an afterthought "... though I'm sure that just to spite me, it will look like the macho potato... damn, I can already see it! A blond, blue eyed baby boy with a curl! Damn! You'll have to teach him Italian and cook him a lot of pasta, or he'll end up being a clone of Ludwig!"

Feli laughed whole-heartedly. "Don't worry, ve, I'll try!"

Lovino kept on talking. "That's just... wow. That's really good news, Feli. Don't let anything spoil it. It will be alright. Trust me when I say that it will. I know."

Antonio looked at clock. One o'clock. Normally Lovino would be home at around half past midnight on a weekday.

He sighed and turned in bed. He just couldn't sleep until Lovino was home.

Well, since he was awake, might as well do something. He got out of bed and went to the living room, sitting down on the couch and opening a random magazine. As he was looking for an interesting article, he heard the door opening.

He looked over his shoulder to see a giddy-faced Lovino.

"Lovino? Why that smile?"

Lovino looked at Antonio, keeping up his smile all the while.

"Hey. You know you don't have to wait for me to come home."

Antonio shook his head.

"I can't help it. But tell me, why so happy? Did something good happen?"

Lovino went to the couch and leaned on the backrest so that his face was close to Antonio's.

"Yes. Something really good happened tonight."

Antonio reached for Lovino's hair and started petting it. "And what would that be, mi vida?"

Lovino blushed a bit, but smiled broadly.

"I'm gonna be an uncle."

Antonio stopped suddenly. He looked at Lovino with wide eyes.

"You can't possibly mean...!"

Lovino's smile widened. "Yes! Feli's having a baby! That's so cool!"

Antonio got up and hugged Lovino.

"That's great news! You're gonna have a nephew! Or niece! Congratulations! That's wonderful!"

Lovino hugged his lover back. "I know. That baby will be the most beautiful brat the world has ever seen! How can he not be? He's related to me, after all!"

Antonio laughed and unravelled Lovino from the hug.

"Honestly, Lovi, you're taking this so well. I thought you would have thrown a fit about it. You've never liked Ludwig, and Feli is just 23..."

Lovino shrugged.

"Whatever. It's not like I have to put up with him, and if Feli thinks that he's the one, then what can I do. Besides, even if he is a macho German potato bastard, he's a … uhm... halfway decent guy, and I'm sure he'll try his best to be a good dad. And Feli is 23, not 16. She is an adult, has a job and a house. Whatever happens, she's going to be able to provide for the kid. And just wait and see, that German potato is going to propose to her within the end of the week. Goddamnit."

Antonio cupped Lovino's cheeks and leaned his forehead against the Italian's.

"I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but you're being really optimistic. I wonder what changed?"

Lovino looked away from Antonio's eyes, but didn't try to get away.

"... life's too short to be pessimistic."

And with that, he kissed Antonio on the cheek and went for the bathroom.

A little chapter to distract Lovino from his death-induced bad mood XD