Lovino

Everything felt right.

He woke wrapped around Antonio's arms, breathing in the fresh scent of his deodorant and laundry soap. Exactly how it was supposed to be.

Antonio was still asleep, he could feel his faint breathing and the slow rise and downfall of his chest. He hoped he was having a peaceful sleep, Lovino certainly did. Not only that, Antonio looked exhausted. His skin was pale and his face was close to lifeless. Gently, as to not wake him, Lovino shifted his head downwards, so he could look at Antonio's arms.

Ugh.

Why did he have to do this to himself? They were fading, thankfully, but it's the wounds within that take so much longer to heal. Some don't heal at all. Hopefully, Antonio was taking care of himself now. He knew there were people who cared about him, he knew it wasn't worth it, he knew doing this would get him absolutely nowhere, save for corruption. Just...why?

Whatever his motive, desperation, helplessness, Lovino just wanted him to get better. No one, absolutely no one, deserves this.

Then there was a knock on the door. Damn, what time was it? Could it be Gilbert?

Maybe it was just Feli's obnoxious friend. Maybe he wouldn't have to get up out of the comfort he was blanketed in.

Then, "Lovi!" He heard his brother yell from downstairs. "Gil is here!"

God, why?

He knew Gilbert would probably just go upstairs and walk in. That's what he usually did, anyway.

He had about two minutes for Feli to finish off conversing with Gilbert and for him to come up and barge in. With a deep sigh, he untangled himself from Antonio and slowly shook him awake. Okay, maybe not that slowly. But he was pressed for time, so whatever, right?

"Umph...Lovi. I'm tired." He heard him groan.

"Yeah, well so am I. But we have company."

Instantly, like a dog who'd just heard a mention of food, his head jerked up. He broke out into one of his casual smiles. "Really, who?"

"Er...he's, a friend of mine. We kinda...I dunno. We kinda had a thing for each other, I guess."

"Gilbert?"

"You're such a stalker."

"It's not my fault you have social media."

Speak of the devil, in comes Gilbert. "Lovino! Get up, get up!" His smile faded when he saw Antonio still laying on the bed, sleepy-eyed and yawning. "Who's this?" His voice cracked.

"Gil, this is Antonio. Like, you know… Antonio Antonio…" He held his hands behind his back and his eyes scanned the room. This was so awkward.

"O-oh. I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something?" His eyebrows fell into a frown and he made fists in both hands.

"No, sorry, this is an awkward way to meet," Antonio stepped in, leaning out of the bed. "I'm assuming you already know me, so there's no point in introducing myself. And I do believe you're Gilbert? It's nice to meet you."

Despite Antonio's act of kindness, Gilbert barked back in a menacing tone, "Yeah, you're the asshole who broke Lovino's heart. Nice to meet you too."

Then he looked up at Lovi. "I thought you were better than this, you know."

Lovino sighed. "Gil, hold on. Antonio is here, all the way from California...and I'm sorry, but I believe that it's possible to fix a wrongdoing. And, you know what, I messed up pretty badly too. I know two wrongs don't make a right, but I think we've both learned from our mistakes. That doesn't mean we're gonna be in a relationship, to be honest with you, I don't even know what we are right now. But for now, we're just happy we get to see each other again. You understand that, don't you?"

After Lovino's talk, he did seem more at ease. Gilbert took a breath. His fists unclenched, and his body visibly relaxed. "I do understand. I'm sorry, this is just a lot to process."

Antonio jumped in, again, "So, we're cool? Cuz, honestly, I really wanna talk to you." Both of them smiled, at the same time. It made Lovino want to smile as well.

"Yeah, we're cool. Sorry for lashing out at you. You actually seem like a real nice person."

"I'd like to think I am, if that doesn't sound too conceited."

Gil snickered a bit. "Not at all."

Okay, so maybe they would get along? Lovino genuinely hoped so.

"You guys wanna talk over food? Cuz I've got an intense craving for Feliciano's chocolate croissants." He broke in.

Lovino knew Antonio adored them, and of course Gilbert is naturally attracted to anything containing chocolate.

"Yes!" The two shouted at once.

Antonio

So maybe him and Gilbert got off on the wrong foot. It didn't help that he found him in Lovino's bed. Antonio wondered if Gilbert had ever been in that bed. The two seemed really close. The thought made him slightly uncomfortable...But Gilbert and Lovino never really had anything serious going on, Antonio at least knew that. And Lovino had given Antonio the consent to be in his bed, to kiss him, to fall asleep beside him. Now, that thought certainly made a shiver run through his body.

As usual, Feliciano's croissants were terrifyingly good. To his surprise, Gilbert wasn't the only guest in the house. There was some blonde teen, who was actually a lot taller than Antonio. He seemed a lot older than everyone sitting at the table, but he seemed to be really close to Feli. He assumed he was one of his...friends?

Just in time, to put an end to Antonio's wild guessing, Feli chipped in, "Oh! Toni, you don't know Ludwig. He's Gilbert's younger brother."

Oh. He was so much taller? So much more mature? "I see," he added politely. "Nice to meet you, then." Ludwig nodded, acknowledging Antonio. He was more or less quiet, yet alert. He really only paid attention to Feli. They just had to be a little more than friends. Antonio easily caught the faint blushes and sparkle in each other's eyes when they talked, accidentally brushed against them, even just looked their way. He wondered how Lovino was taking all of that.

Then again, Lovino was the shortest one there. There wasn't much he could do.

"So, Gilbert, have you lived here for a long time?" Antonio tried to start conversation.

"Well, not too long I suppose. But long enough that I know a good deal about the city, how to get around it, you know. What about you, what's your story?"

"Ah, I dunno. I've lived in San Diego for pretty much most of my life. It's all I truly know. Moving here, it'll take some getting used to. Does it snow?"

Gilbert laughed at that. "It does. But don't worry, it's not that bad. Though, maybe that's just because I've always lived in colder regions. Snow is the terrain I know best."

"I see. That must be nice, then. I've seen snow only once, when I went to the mountains. I just about died, I was so cold. I think I'm just more of a summer person."

"Wait, are we seriously sitting here talking about the weather?" Gilbert interjected. "Let's change the subject to something a little more...extreme."

"Alright, um…" His eyes scanned around the room and his lips slid to one side, thinking. "Wow, I think for the first time ever, I'm at a loss for words. Maybe my life just isn't that exciting."

"Oh, please, I'm sure it is! Tell me a story."

Gilbert was very good at getting conversation out of someone. "Well…" He began. "My first day of fifth grade, I was in a new school and I wanted to make a statement so I wore tomato-print underpants over batman sweatpants and a green v-neck, and wore a floatie around my neck. Needless to say, my first day didn't go very well. And for the rest of the year I was 'the Spanish boy who crossed the border on a floatie'. Looking back at it, I think that was pretty funny."

"That...is absolutely awesome." Gilbert went up in laughs. "I have a similar story, when I was four I started going to a preschool and for my first day I dressed up like a girl because everyone would always talk about how cute my cousins looked in dresses and pretty pink things, so I wanted to be cute too. And most kids actually did think I was a girl, and to tell you the truth, I'd probably do it again. Who cares about gender roles anyway? It's not like clothes has a gender, I can feel pretty if I want to."

This time they both laughed. Antonio could feel himself falling into a friendship with Gilbert, one he knew would end well.

"You know what, though, you're totally right. Guys never get to look pretty. We can't wear makeup or dress in anything fancy other than a tux. It sucks!"

"Agreed."

Long after they'd finished their delicious breakfast, they continued to talk at the table, Lovino occasionally joining in or snickering to himself. Feliciano and Ludwig had long left the table, and washed everyone's dirty dishes.

"So wait, what did you do once the frog's leg got squished off?" Antonio asked in regards to one of Gilbert's strange, captivating stories.

"Well, Arthur picked it up with a stick and threw it at Francis, laughing his ass off and telling him to save his dying brother."

"And what did Francis do?" Antonio's eyes were wide with interest and delight.

"He shrieked - and I mean shrieked - at the top of his lungs because it fell in his hair and he had just gotten back from the hair salon. He ran home, took a hot bath, and even then, he was shivering and just about to convulse in tears for the rest of the night."

"Wow… That's insane."

"I suppose we did do a lot of stupid stuff. This summer has been pretty boring though, because Francis is visiting his family and Arthur only talks to me at book club. That bastard despises me otherwise. Gotta admit, though, we've had some pretty cool conversations about some classic novels."

"Wait, this Francis guy… long, blonde hair?"

"Uh… Yeah. I didn't mention his hair being long and blonde... How'd you know?"

"I think I know him."

"Do you?"

"Yeah, my mom worked with his mom in her flower shop. She's kinda rude, though. Always wants everything to be classy and over-the-top, even though she wasn't much herself. But he'd hang around there a lot, and I did too. He was fun, but I think his parents didn't want him around me because one day he got really distant and wouldn't play with me anymore."

"Wow. That's weird. He did live in France, England, and Spain for a while, but not California. You sure?"

"Yeah, pretty sure," He smiled good-naturedly. "I actually have lived in Spain. But I was young, and we don't really visit. So, I don't know, I guess it didn't really matter."

"Didn't matter? Toni, you've lived in Europe! Spain! Do you know how cool that is?"

Antonio smiled sheepishly, both at the compliment and the endearing nickname.

"Thanks, Gilbert. Ya know, I'd really like to hang out with you more. And definitely see Francis again."

"Hell, yeah! And then we can all-" Gilbert dropped his conversation to look at Lovino, who was half-asleep. "Lovi, how you holding up there?" He giggled.

"Shut up. You two are annoying."

The two friends flashed Lovino a cheesy grin, and he groaned and rolled his eyes.

He knows he likes the attention, Antonio thought. He knew his Lovi.

"Anyways," Lovino sighed, getting up from the seat and stretching his back. "What now?"

"TV?" Suggested Gilbert.

"Do you ever want to do anything besides eat my food, watch your shows, and be annoying?"

"Well, I do read a book every once in a while. And sometimes I try to bond with my brother. We usually just run together." He couldn't tell whether that was literal or sarcastic. It still made Antonio laugh, for some reason. Almost everything he said made Antonio want to drop into a giggle.

"I'm gonna feed Italia. She's been eyeing me for a while now. I'm afraid she'll take an eye from me if I don't give her food sometime soon."

Lovino

They watched horror movies for the rest of the day.

Those two idiots marathoned every horror movie and series they could find.

To make matters worse, they were both:

a. So loud.

b. Hot

c. Straight...straight up gay.

D. Hot.

Honestly, they squealed at frequencies that'd make opera singers jealous, held each other bear-hug style on the suspenseful parts, and for some reason, it made them all the more adorable.

Ugh, idiotas.

When his mom got home to cook lunch, she barged in right when someone was getting decapitated. Antonio and Gilbert may have been scared, but that was nothing compared to the fear of a frail woman in her late 30's who is walking into her house, expecting her sons to be well-behaved and calm as can be. But instead, is greeted by two fifteen-year-old boys screaming at the top of their adolescent lungs.

Her bag flew four feet in the air and the abyss of papers and female cosmetics came spilling out.

Lovino sighed in frustration. "Sorry, mama. Let me help you."

After she'd gotten over the surprise, she laughed. "It's okay, Lovino. I see you boys are enjoying yourselves."

He looked back at the two, still consumed in the movie. They were going to be great friends.

Lovino helped his mother with lunch, seeing as he had nothing else to do. Feliciano went out to eat with Ludwig. It was a bit funny actually, when he left the house. Lovino could just sense how much he wanted to say "Lovi, I'm gonna go on a lunch date with Ludwig," but how he knew he absolutely couldn't because Lovino would murder them right then and there.

"So, how's Antonio?" His mother asked, while she turned the pork frying on the stove.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know. With his dad and all. His mom. Those cuts on his arms."

"You noticed those."

"Lovino, I'm your mother. I notice everything."

He chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I guess so. But I'm not really sure. We haven't really had the privacy to talk about those things. When he came over, we both fell asleep for a while. And then Gilbert got here."

"Mhmm, I see," She looked at her son. "Antonio and Gilbert. They're getting along quite nicely, I see."

"Yeah, I mean, why wouldn't they? They have a lot in common."

She clicked her tongue. "Well, usually when someone has two love interests, those love interests have a tendency to not get along too well."

"Mom!" He chopped the vegetables a little faster, with a little more annoyance. "They're not my love interests. They're my friends. I would never even like them like that."

"Didn't I just tell you I notice everything?" She shook her head playfully. "It's okay, my Lovi. You seem to be handling things well."

"Thanks, mama."

They continued their conversation while their lunch cooked slowly, releasing that heavenly aroma throughout the house.

Antonio

"Hey...Gil?" He asked out of nowhere. The movie wasn't too interesting anyway.

"Hm?" His eyebrows perked up, and he blinked.

"Me and Lovino have a lot of history...but, sometimes that doesn't really matter." He clawed nervously at his arms. "D-did you want me to back off from Lovino?"

He didn't want to look at Gilbert anymore. This was difficult for him to say. Gilbert was a great guy, and Antonio cared greatly for Lovino. He wanted them to be happy. And if that meant stepping away from the romantic aspect of Lovino's life, he'd be okay with that. He just wanted him in his life.

Gilbert let out a breath. "Wow, that's a humble thing to say, man. But, don't let me stop you. Lovino cares about you, I can tell." He laughed a bit. "Although, I'll be honest with you, I get really jealous when you two look at each other. It's...like nothing I've ever seen before. I mean, there's just this look - this strange endearing look - that I can never describe. So until I get over that jealousy, I'd really appreciate it if you guys at least acted like friends around me. Is that okay?"

"No problem," he returned Gilbert's smile. "Now, this movie's getting boring, wanna do something better?"

"Like, annoying Lovi?"

"You know me so well, Gilbert."

A/N: this chapter has a LOT of dialogue...but I think all three of them needed that bonding, ya know?

& Lovino bonding with his mother is my favorite thing in the world and he just loves his mommy so much it's great.

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed! C: