For Prumano Week 2019: Day 4 - Sun
In today's episode of "yuki interprets prompts so loosely you're gonna wonder why the fuck this even gets a pass"
Title based on the song Glitter and Gold by Barns Courtney, which doesn't fit the fic at all but it is a song I associate with Romano so like *shrug*
Gilbert doesn't remember the title of the play. Hell, he doesn't even remember the plot beside the fact that it's supposed to be something Greek. The only reason he's slouched in a slightly uncomfortable chair in a slightly dingy theatre is because Francis had begged him to come fill up a seat. And then Antonio had too, so Gilbert, incapable of saying no to both his best friends, had bought tickets, and brought Roderich and Erzsébet along with him.
Roderich has, by now, finally stopped grumbling about the score, instead he's staring at the piano stood off to the side. Erzsébet has been paying attention to the play, but sometimes, she would reply to Gilbert's texts, though she's probably also chatting with her girlfriend considering how often she smiles at her phone.
And Gilbert… Well, Gilbert has been watching the play, too, sort of, but only at selected intervals, when the handsome actor playing Apollo enters the stage.
It's… He's… very distracting.
As much as Gilbert doesn't understand about theatre, he can understand that a lot of the budget went into costuming and makeup.
The actor truly looks like the god of the sun. Brown curls that change shade in the different lights frame a handsomely shaped face with sharp cheekbones and a dusting of freckles over his nose. His pretty eyes look gold, dancing in the lights, and are brought out by the black eyeliner applied around them. A gold laurel sits in his hair and his toga, too, has gold accents woven in. It fits his body perfectly, showing off the lean muscle of an athlete. To finish off the look, lines of gold are painted down his arms and legs, giving him this ethereal appearance.
But it's his voice that really gets to Gilbert. It's deep and slightly accented, trilling his r's. There's a particular melody in it too, as if he's quoting poetry (though Gilbert has listened and there's no particular rhyme nor reason to the dialogue).
Gilbert wonders who this person is from the myriad of people Antonio and Francis have previously spoken of. He doesn't look like an Alfred, nor a Matthew. He looks more intense than the slacking Herakles and not nearly as ambitious as Júlio. There have been mentions of a Feliciano, but this man looks as if he has the same kind of bite as the Python that represents him, so perhaps Lovino it is.
If it is Lovino, Gilbert knows there will be one hell of a personality in store for him, and that's if Lovino so much as considers going on a date with him.
Gilbert really wants to go on a date with him.
Despite being incredibly attractive, if Gilbert has guessed right, Lovino is supposed to be witty, sardonic and a bit of an ass. To Gilbert that sounds just as attractive as the perk ass he gets to stare at currently. Especially considering that the context of Lovino being an ass is when Antonio is being an idiot or when Francis and Arthur are doing their old-married-couple spiel; Gilbert does that too.
For now, according to the pamphlet that was pushed into his hands, he's still in for another hour, so he sags a little further into his seat and looks at Apollo-maybe-Lovino.
There's no way the actor hasn't noticed yet. Gilbert is seated in the second row, close enough for Lovino to only have to glance down to see him stare at him with naked interest.
That's how flirting works, right? You just stare at the person you fancy and hope they catch the hint.
Or hope your best friend picks up on it and invites you backstage.
Either is fine, really.
It's Francis who picks up on it, but that's mostly because Antonio does lighting, so he's somewhere backstage, while Francis is another actor. Gilbert thinks he's supposed to be another god—he's certainly dressed as prettily as Lovino—but, well, that's the extent of Gilbert's knowledge. But when the actors take their final bow and filter backstage, Francis jumps down the stage and leans over the now emptied front seats.
Gilbert has been stretching, back aching after slouching for almost two hours, and considering his options as to how to not be a viciously awkward person and ask a guy out.
"So, how did you like it?" Francis asks, though there's a certain quality to how he says "it" that cues Gilbert into the fact that Francis has, indeed, noticed.
"Well, you know, I don't understand shit about theatre, but I can appreciate it," Gilbert says with a grin.
Francis snorts. "I'm sure."
Erzsébet leans forward. "So, is this like a big production or just for fun?"
"A little bit of both." Francis shrugs. "Some of us want to take this further, but others don't, so we try to find some middle ground."
Francis offers to take them backstage and points out the stage director for Erzsébet and Roderich follows her, muttering something about wanting to know who does their score. Francis then takes Gilbert's arm and drags him to where Antonio has been fiddling with buttons.
"Gil!" Antonio bounces in for a quick hug. "What did you think of my lighting work, huh?"
"It was good, I think. I mean…" Gilbert isn't quite sure how to convey that all he really appreciated about the lighting is how pretty it made Lovino.
"He means you made Lovino really eye-catching," Francis says, amused.
Gilbert gives himself a figurative pat on the back for guessing the right name while Antonio stares at him.
"Lovino? Really?"
"He's cute. And handsome. And uh, from your stories he sounds like my type of guy. Unless he doesn't like guys, I guess. Oh, God, does he like guys?"
"He does," Francis says dryly. "I should've figured you're a masochist."
"And he's single?"
"Yeah."
"Good." Gilbert rubs his hands. "Introduce us?"
Antonio and Francis glance at each other.
"Are you really sure?" Antonio asks.
"You make him sound like a psychopath."
"Well, not so much psychopath…" Francis trails of as he searches for words.
"More like a really, really, really strong personality," Antonio finishes for him.
"Ambitious," Francis adds.
"Oh, yes." Antonio nods. "Obsessed with perfection."
"Nitpicky."
"Lost in his own world."
Francis sighs at that one. "So incredibly blunt."
"What is this? His performance review?" Gilbert asks.
"A little." Antonio smiles. "He's also very nice."
"Does like to help and be supportive, in his own way," Francis says.
"Super curious about discovering and learning new things."
"Very funny, if a little sarcastic."
"Cares a lot about the people he's close with."
"Supposedly very good in bed." Francis fans himself and Gilbert gives him a shove.
"Is he also interested in dating?" Gilbert asks once the giggles reside.
"There's only one way to find out." And before Gilbert really gets time to mentally prepare himself, Antonio has turned around and shouted Lovino's name. No one else really perks up, however, except for the god himself.
Lovino saunters over, eyeing up Gilbert quickly. He's a little shorter now, but still very beautiful, and Gilbert can see the little details he has missed, like the golden highlight on his cheeks and his long, pretty lashes.
"What is it you want, Antonio?" Lovino asks irritably.
"Hey, Lovi," Antonio says, ever so cheerfully. "This is Gilbert. He wanted to meet you."
Lovino raises a mildly unimpressed eyebrow. "Is that so?"
Gilbert tries to smile, but it feels a little stiff, so he clears his throat and says, "Well, yeah. I thought you, uh, did a great job, and all that."
Francis hides a giggle behind his hand and Gilbert really wants to kick him for it, but then Francis ever so discreetly says, "Ah, Antonio, there's still this thing I wanted to discuss with you. Lovino, you'll take care of our little Gilbie for a while, right? Thank you," while tugging Antonio away to probably poke fun at Gilbert from a distance.
Lovino watches them leave, then cocks his head as he meets Gilbert's eye again. "So."
"So," Gilbert echoes. He scratches his head, trying to find a topic of conversation. "Um. You guys really went all out on costuming, huh?"
Lovino snorts, clasping his hands behind his back and tilting his head back in a way that made the gold catch the dim light. "Emma's a real gem for sure. But yeah. It used to be that the clothing cost the most of any production."
"And you're a fan of the practice?"
"It's the Shakespearean experience," says Lovino with a shrug. "Expensive costuming, mediocre plays."
"That's a little…"
"True?" Lovino smiles. "Don't get me wrong; they're fun to read and act out. But are they actual masterpieces? No, not really."
"I mean, maybe the play's mediocre, but, well, the acting wasn't." Gilbert grins, feeling a little more of his confidence resurface.
Lovino gives Gilbert a long look, then leans closer to ask, "Are you flirting with me?"
"Is it working?" Gilbert asks hopefully.
There's a pause where Lovino continues to look at him, but then he bursts into laughter, gaining the attention of people around them. Lovino covers his mouth with his hand, clasping Gilbert's arm with his other as if to steady himself.
All Gilbert can really think is that Lovino's eyes are really that pretty and golden up close, huh?
"Yeah," Lovino says eventually. "Yeah, I guess it is." He smirks, then as he leans closer, lowering his voice to say, "So I didn't imagine you checking me out, hm?"
Gilbert coughs. "Let's just say you made the play a lot more interesting to watch."
Lovino looks incredibly smug at that, biting his lip to stop it from showing too much. Not that it helps, but Gilbert doesn't mind much. It is true, after all, and if it makes Lovino more interested in him… Well, that's just a bonus.
"Well then." Lovino squeezes Gilbert's arm before waving his hand, leaving a dusting of gold glitter on Gilbert's arm. "Why don't you join us tonight for dinner and we can see where that leads?"
Gilbert grins. "Sounds good to me. I can have Fran and Toni intervene in case your strong personality scares me off."
Lovino snorts and rolls his eyes. "Is that what they've been saying about me?"
"I got the whole performance review." Gilbert steps a little closer, excited that Lovino angles toward him, looking up at him with that mildly amused expression. "But to be honest, I'd rather discover myself."
Lovino's hand is back on his arm, trailing up to play with the sleeve of his t-shirt. He smiles coyly. "Now aren't you charming." He pokes Gilbert's nose. "We'll see how that holds up."
"Oh, I can assure you," Gilbert says, laughingly, "it won't."
"I'll look forward to that." Lovino is still smiling even as he draws back. "I guess I'll go and wash myself off now. I'm gonna find glitter for days honestly." He pauses, snickering softly as he looks at Gilbert's nose. "You, uh, might want to—" he gestures with his hand to his own nose, laughing softly as Gilbert brushes his glitter-free arm across his face, probably smearing the glitter everywhere, then quickly turns on his heel to wherever the sinks are.
Gilbert finally feels the embarrassment catch up to himself and deflates as Antonio and Francis come bounding back, hiding his face in his hands as they tease him.
Later, after they have gone to dinner with all the cast and crew, Lovino holds onto Gilbert's arm as they walk home together, still talking and laughing. Gilbert invites him inside for coffee, Lovino proceeds to beat the shit out of him at COD, and Gilbert kisses him as he gloats about it.
Lovino laughs and brushes his thumbs over Gilbert's cheeks as he cups his face, muttering, "There has been glitter on your face all night," before pressing another kiss to Gilbert's lips.
To which Gilbert replies, whispering in between kisses, "I bet by tomorrow I'll have glitter everywhere."
"Is that a challenge?"
Gilbert grins. "We can make it one."
The next morning he wakes to gold glitter in his bed and Lovino curled toward him, close enough for Gilbert to count his freckles. The sun streams through the small gap underneath the blinds, catching on the glitter and warming his skin.
Lovino's lashes flutter and he mumbles, shifting a little closer yet at the same time kicking at Gilbert's feet. His hair looks like an absolute mess and his eyeliner has smeared, but he still looks very handsome.
Gilbert presses a quick kiss to Lovino's nose, laughing softly when Lovino scrunches his face, and snuggles closer to sleep in for a little longer.
Things you should know about me: I closely associate Romano with Apollo, god of the arts, medicine and sometimes the sun, so really this was a bit of an indulgence into that.
Originally posted on the 22nd August 2019 on AO3.