"What are you doing?"
The boy startled and looked up at Antonio with wide eyes, like some cookie thief caught red-handed. Antonio was standing on the top step to the front door of the Vargas house. He had been planning to knock and ask if Lovino was home, but it seemed he hadn't needed to because the boy was already there in front of him.
Lovino scrambled up from where he had been sprawled, looking embarrassed all the while. His face was slowly coloring into a dark shade of red, one that, though Antonio did not know it then, the boy would never get a handle on. "Nothing." Was his response.
Antonio at that age did not understand that 'nothing' usually meant 'I don't want to talk about it'. Because he did not know this, Antonio persisted.
"But you were laying in the middle of the floor. In front of the door." Antonio inquired then giggled. "Wow, that rhymed."
Lovino huffed and, if Antonio had known him better at this age, he would have been surprised when he decided to answer truthfully.
"I'm not allowed outside today, so this is how I feel the sun."
The boy seemed to intrigue Antonio more and more as he got to know him. "Feel the sun? So you lay in front of the glass door like a cat?"
Lovino rolled his eyes at that. "You sound just like Feli."
Antonio didn't know what to say to that. He figured it was a compliment from what he knew of the brother and from the fondly exasperated tone Lovino said it in. It was the kind of voice Antonio usually associated with adults, that quiet love. He hadn't expected to hear it from the boy.
"So I guess you can't play?" Antonio asked instead. He was a little disappointed, but he understood. Parents could be strict sometimes. Once his mom had taken his TV time for a week!
Lovino frowned. It was a well-trained expression. He shook his head. "Why would you want to play?"
Antonio's features puzzled. "What do you mean? I love to play! Don't you?"
"I guess." Lovino shrugged. "I play with Feli or in my room with my cars. But why do you want me to play?"
Antonio paused. He watched Lovino for a second and decided, yes, the boy was being completely serious. This only proved to confuse Antonio more.
"So we can have fun." Antonio answered as if this was obvious. Which it was. He just couldn't figure out how Lovino didn't see it that way too.
"You don't have fun when you play by yourself?" Lovino asked.
Antonio shrugged. "I have a lot more fun when I can play with friends!"
Lovino paused for a beat. Antonio briefly wondered what could be going through the boy's mind.
"I think Feli is in the backyard."
"You don't want to play?" Antonio asked, heart sinking.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"I'm not allowed outside." The boy was getting frustrated now.
"That's alright!" Antonio answered, smiling broadly. "You don't have to come out!"
Lovino's brows furrowed. "How are we supposed to play then?"
"Easy!" Antonio replied and sat down, criss-cross-applesauce. "We stay right here!"
"What?"
"We can play 'I Spy' or make up stories or play hangman. We'll need a piece of paper for that one, but I think it'll work!" Antonio exclaimed loudly. Lovino gave him a skeptical look from where he still stood.
Antonio smiled up at him.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you want to play with me? Feli is in the backyard. Why not play with him instead?" Lovino asked.
Antonio took a moment to answer. Lovino was right after all. Normal children wouldn't try to interact with kids who were essentially grounded when they could find a dozen others they could run around with. So why did he want to be here with Lovino so much? What made this boy so special?
"Because I like you." Antonio answered honestly and shrugged his shoulders like it was obvious. Going by Lovino's reaction though, it was anything but obvious to the boy.
Lovino stared at him with wide amber eyes for a few beats, absorbing these words. He blinked and opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but closed it right after. Antonio was beginning to think he had said something wrong when Lovino shook his head and plopped down on his side of the screen door.
"'I Spy' you said?" Lovino asked and Antonio grinned. He let Lovino have the first turn, in which the boy spied something red and it took Antonio forever to figure out it was the flag on the mailbox.
He didn't miss the small smile the boy wore the whole game through.
So that's what his smile looks like. He remembered thinking to himself. I want to see that more.
-/-
"I am not going in there." Francis panned as they both looked out the front window of Antonio's car. He had parked them in a space at the front of a gas station only for Francis to immediately protest.
"Why not?" Antonio asked, twisting his body to reach for his bag in the back seat. They hadn't had to pack much since they would only be gone for a day, so Antonio had thrown all of his things into his old backpack that he had thankfully brought from New York. He pulled it to the front and began digging around in it, extracting his wallet from its depths.
"Do you not see the place you have parked in front of or shall I describe it for your obviously blind eyes?" Francis looked at him, still buckled in and apparently with no intention of moving.
"It's a gas station, Francis." Antonio nearly laughed. What was the big deal? "It's tradition to get snacks from a gas station for road trips!"
"Non. Picnics at rest stops are tradition. Rest stops are the dirtiest place I was prepared to go to during this trip."
"But where are you supposed to get your candy and soda?" Antonio asked, pausing midway through zipping back up his bag to stare at his friend.
"You do not. That is what our packed snacks are for." Francis replied haughtily and unbuckled his seat. After swinging open his door he asked, "Cheese and crackers or celery sticks?"
"You brought celery sticks?" Antonio asked, now no longer holding back his laughter. Francis looked offended.
"Fine. I was going to share but I see now that a gas station is much more suited to your tastes." He got out of the car and made his way to the trunk where the cooler was. Antonio shook his head and threw his bag behind his seat, getting out and going into the store.
They reconvened when Francis had retrieved a roll of Ritz crackers and a block of cheese and Antonio had bought his own assortment of candies and sodas. Francis had scrunched his nose at the sight of the colorful boxes and bags until Antonio had placed a black bag of cheddar popcorn beside his friend. It was the boy's only junk food weakness. Only Antonio and Gilbert knew of it.
Sticking his nose up, trying for indifference, Francis replied, "You are forgiven."
Antonio giggled and busted open one of his own treats, placing it between the cupholders and buckling in. He pulled the car out of the parking lot and continued along the way his phone navigation relayed to him in its neutral tone.
It was a nice day. Warm and sunny and, with the windows down, sufficiently windy enough to provide a fair breeze. The roads they were taking were practically desolate, the countryside they flew past all a green hilly blur. They had been on the road for approximately two hours, which left three to go. They had taken off early that morning, at about seven, so, with luck, they would arrive at noon.
For most of the drive the two had been too tired to do much, opting to listen to a lame radio talk show that did cringe worthy stuff like prank calls and celebrity talk. Now they were awake enough to grow sick of the constant babble and Antonio had changed it to a pop station. After they'd had their snacks, the two started to talk. The conversation came natural like it should between the good friends.
And, of course, during the course of the conversation, it turned to their destination.
"We only have a few hours so we have to do as much as we can." Antonio said.
"Yes. We will find Gilbert and you can find Lovino too and we will demand they take the day from work. I am sure Lovino's brother and Ludwig would be quite fine with taking the shift. They seem to get along nicely." There was a twinkle in Francis' eye as he said this and Antonio chuckled.
"Feliciano is normally friendly, but I do agree. He really likes Ludwig."
Francis hummed his agreement and glanced at Antonio. Antonio waited, figuring he had something to say, but nothing came. He looked over and saw Francis give him a skeptical look before shifting his gaze back to the skyline.
Antonio, being the driver, had to give his attention back to the road, but that didn't stop his eyes from peeking at his friend every few seconds. There was something Francis was going to say, he could feel it.
"Antonio." Ha! He knew it!
Antonio looked over. "Yep?"
"Have you spoken to Emma recently?"
Antonio's heart sunk. Oh.
"Well…" he responded, fixing his vision back to the road, "Not really. A little, I guess." Usually Emma would send him short updates or cute messages at random times. Last night there had been one that showed a cake she had baked that day and a short message teasing how he couldn't have any since he was so far away. He hadn't responded. He wasn't sure why. "Why do you ask?"
"You know why." Francis replied. Of course he knew why, but it didn't hurt to stall. "Have you thought more about what you said to me?"
Antonio chewed on his lip and kept his eyes on the road in front of him. "No…"
He could see Francis nod from the corner of his eye. He was thinking again. Antonio didn't let his hopes up that the conversation might have been dropped.
"May I ask you something, Antonio?"
No. Nope. No; thank you for asking though. "Sure." Damn it.
"Are you sure this is about Emma?"
Antonio's breath caught and his grip tightened on the steering wheel. Of course it's about Emma. He wanted to say. He couldn't speak. He couldn't voice that lie.
Francis did not either. Finally, when Antonio found his voice, it seemed like too much silence had passed for anything he said to be considered seriously.
"What… else would it be about?" He practically squeaked.
Francis sighed. "Antonio, I do not wish to spell it out for you. I think you already know what this is really about. I can tell he's all you've been thinking about."
It was a good thing these roads were so desolate because, if they had been busier, someone would have rear-ended the car from the sudden application to the breaks.
"He?" Antonio asked, voice an octave too high.
"Lovino, Antonio." Francis said, unphased by their sudden stop. "I mean Lovino."
Antonio shook his head, eyes squeezed shut as if he could block out the words. Block out the truth. "It isn't like that between us, Francis. You know that. He's my best friend."
"Being friends does not stop certain feelings from cropping up…" Francis suggested, sympathetically. He seemed to sense the difficulty his thick-headed friend was having.
Antonio shook his head more, opening his eyes to look determinedly at his friend in the passenger seat. "That's like saying I could like you like that! Or Gilbert!"
Francis was using his most patient voice. "Antonio, close your eyes for me."
"Wha-" Antonio started to protest only to be interrupted.
"Please. Just this one thing then I will leave you alone about all of this." It could have been a plea, but by his tone of voice, Antonio knew there was no choice in the matter.
He shut his eyes.
"I can't tell you what I think I see between you two because, you're right in what you said the other day: Every relationship is unique. Is special." Francis started, voice slow and patient, and Antonio sat calmly, hearing and not seeing. "Maybe you really do not see Lovino in a romantic light and it's simply the way you two act around each other. You know me, Antonio. I love romantics and poetry and love. But you have to know as well that I love friendship and family and platonic love as well. Love is such a powerful force and so many mistake that as needing to find a lover. Which is not true. There are so many types of love and so many ways to love that it is just impossible to say that is the only one that matters."
"I am not trying to persuade you in anyway that it is useless to have Lovino as your best friend because that would make a mockery of that beautiful bond that friends have. It would make the relationship between you and me and Gilbert sound cheap and pathetic. I cherish the fact that we share thoughts and feelings and experiences like now. And our trust and strength we find in one another is something irreplaceable. What you have with Lovino is the same in so many different ways and a relationship like that is special. It's real. True."
Antonio was speechless. He had heard Francis speak his mind many a time, but never had it sounded so… heartfelt. Antonio had always assumed his talk of romantics and dramatics had come from the heart, but now he could see he'd been wrong.
This was Francis from late night Skype calls while the three were trying to get to sleep with no success and instead just spoke to each other, minds in distant places. This was Francis when he'd found a poem that had spoken to him and he'd decided to share it with them. This was Francis speaking about Joan or wistfully of childhood innocence long gone. Of old memories and hopes of the future.
"But," Francis spoke again and Antonio's focus was immediately on him, "I see something between you two that you still keep hidden. And I'm afraid that if you keep it from each other for much longer it might quietly drive you apart."
"For years I was skeptical about Lovino, I will admit. He is moody and bad-tempered and anytime you spoke of him he seemed to be insulting you. He still insults you constantly." Francis chuckled. "But I suppose that's just how you two work. You've always been a bit of a masochist."
Antonio scrunched up his face, eyes still closed. "Hey!"
"Of course, I kid with you, Toni. But I am serious about the rest." Francis said, sobering up again. "Aren't you hiding something from him?"
Antonio didn't reply, but he did open his eyes to look at his friend. Francis already knew the answer, that much Antonio could tell. Antonio contemplated his words, still looking into his friend's eyes, then averted his gaze.
Yeah. He was keeping something from Lovino.
He was keeping from him the feelings he had of always wanting to be by his side and missing him so much more than he ever had when they were apart. He was keeping the thoughts of wanting to kiss him just to see if it was the same as Emma. If it was better. If it was more. He kept the hope that, deep down, with Lovino he wanted it to be so much more.
Antonio didn't tell Lovino how he had been the one to cause him to smile in class because of the silly little charm that dangled from Antonio's phone or that he was constantly having crises over the other boy for the silliest reasons. For reasons Antonio would have never thought twice about had it been maybe a year ago.
Most of all, Antonio kept a burning desire within him that constantly ached to make Lovino smile and get every trace of anxiety to flee from his face. To see that wide smile, breaking the serious palette of the boy's features. A happiness from the abandon of worries. That small content smile he'd had when a boy went out of his way to stay with Lovino when he wasn't allowed to leave his house.
I want to see that more.
Antonio had almost forgotten that memory, yet there it was, clear as if it had been days before instead of years. Antonio looked over, surprise etching his face, and saw Francis smiling softly at him. He nodded and turned away.
Antonio sat still, hands having slid from the steering wheel to his lap and the street a long stretch into the horizon before them. He wasn't sure how long he sat for. He argued silently with himself for some time and, once he decided enough was enough and pressed down on the accelerator again, found that even as he drove he could not leave those thoughts behind him.
Francis stayed silent for nearly the whole rest of the ride and Antonio mulled the same thought for just the same amount of time. When the GPS exclaimed "You have reached your destination" in a small town in central Oregon, Antonio wasn't sure if he was ready or not.
He guessed he would just have to be.
-/-
"I like Lovino Vargas."
Antonio wasn't sure what prompted him to say those words, especially as the two were parked right outside the beatdown house of the Beilschmidt grandfather with its torn screen door and rusty bike leaning against the inside of the chain link fence that surrounded the property. Antonio and Francis were seconds away from surprising their friend with their arrival and somehow Antonio had decided it the opportune moment to voice his little epiphany.
Except, it didn't really feel like an epiphany.
He'd felt close to Lovino for a long time. He'd loved him in some shape or form for years. While he couldn't tell you if he necessarily loved the other boy in that way yet, he was certain now that he at least liked him like that.
But it had been growing into this for some time. It was a development that, when Antonio stepped back and looked at it, seemed kind of inevitable. Not that there were any keys events that signaled its occurrence, but subtle things. He wanted to be with Lovino all the time. His heart missed him when he was gone.
He liked Lovino not only at his happiest when he smiled and laughed and forgot about his troubles so he could spend time with Antonio. When he did that just for Antonio. He also cared when Lovino was at his worst. When the world seemed to weigh on his shoulders. When his father never noticed how hard he worked for the man.
He wanted to do better for Lovino and he wanted to help Lovino do better for himself.
These feelings were so strong. He cared for him like a friend, but there was also something else. Something Antonio couldn't describe. A compulsion, a need, to hold his hand and push his hair out of his eyes. Not to mention his extreme interest in what it would be like to kiss the boy.
"I like Lovino Vargas." He repeated. Francis looked his way with a proud smile.
"And I thought you'd never figure it out." His friend teased. "Now, should we go make our entrance?"
-/-
No one was home.
"Where to now?" Antonio asked and Francis rubbed at his chin in thought.
"Perhaps they are all at their grandfathers' store?" He suggested.
"But…" Antonio wondered, "Do we even know where that is?"
Francis shook his head. "No, my dear Antonio. We do not."
Antonio shrugged. "Well, only one way to find out!"
Then Francis whipped out his phone. "Yes, hopefully Google Maps will have it somewhere in its logs." He pressed a button and a dinging noise emitted from the device. "Show stores in my area."
Antonio shifted and blushed. He had actually been thinking of driving around until they found it, but this idea worked too.
Before long, Francis had a few selections for them to investigate and they jumped back into Antonio's car.
There weren't too many stores in the small town, but there were enough where the two had to drive across at least three times. The distance wasn't all that much, so Antonio didn't worry about wasted gas.
The fifth store they entered seemed to hit the jackpot.
A bell sounded their entrance throughout the space and Francis and Antonio walked away from the plain welcome mat to stand in the center of the store. It was a very small place with second-hand clothing hung about on an overflow of racks. The store was a strange mixture of a chaotic mess and an organized catalog of colors and types of clothing.
And, at the register, there was a familiar face. His stony features watched them with a slight surprise but mostly with inquiry. He had slicked back blonde hair and wore a burgundy apron across a neatly pressed button down shirt, as if he had been planning on attending a board meeting instead of a summer job at a Thrift shop. Antonio smiled. He hadn't seen Ludwig since Christmas.
"Hello." Ludwig greeted somewhat robotically.
"Hello, Ludwig!" Antonio said. "Long time no see."
Ludwig nodded. "Why… are you here?"
"To see Gilbert, of course." Francis responded.
"The drive here is over five hours long." He pointed out.
Antonio shrugged.
"So, if you would point us in the right direction to find our friend…" Francis inquired.
Ludwig pointed out the door, resigned to his brother's and said brother's friends' strange antics. "Gilbert and Lovino went to get our lunches. There's a grocery store up the street if you take a right out of the store that they should have gone to."
Antonio's heart quite nearly soared. Lovino was there too. He got to see Lovino after weeks without his best friend. He had so much to tell him, like about his new car and the beach and their road trip. It felt like a life time had passed since he'd last seen him.
His heart was at tremendous heights when it quite suddenly dropped.
I like Lovino Vargas.
But he couldn't tell him that. Lovino couldn't know. Why not? He wasn't sure…
Why couldn't he tell Lovino? How could he just pretend nothing was different between the two now that he knew? He had never been good at hiding his emotions. Especially the positive ones, which he certainly considered this to be. And he especially couldn't hide them from Lovino.
They were a few paces from the grocery store's entrance when someone came bursting out in a blur of dark brown and olive green. Antonio didn't know Lovino owned a shirt like that. The color suited him quite nicely.
I'm going to tell him.
The idea appeared from nothing, but seized Antonio with a vengeance. He had to. It hadn't been fifteen minutes since he'd realized himself, but he felt compelled to tell Lovino. Like he said, he wasn't one for hiding things like this. If he did, he knew it would slowly eat him alive.
It may take Antonio a while to realize things, but when he was made aware by whatever unknown forces (cough, Francis), he was always quick to act on them. He lived in the present. It was a quirk of his.
He turned to his friend beside him. "I'm going to catch up with Lovi. You find Gilbert!"
Francis' eyebrows were drawn into a line of worry for some reason. "Uh, Toni, maybe we should-"
"I gotta go, Francis!" Antonio exclaimed while backing away, a giddy smile on his face. "I promise I'll tell you everything later."
"Antonio…"
But Antonio had already turned his back to him, hurrying along the sidewalk. Whatever concerns there were that laced his friend's voice were lost on Antonio and he had only one goal in mind as he closed the gap between him and the other boy who was walking briskly along the sidewalk.
He had to tell him…
-/-
Lovino must have heard Antonio as he approached because he turned just as Antonio had reached a distance of a few feet from the boy. His eyes widened in surprise at seeing him and Antonio had his own surprise at how much he had missed seeing those eyes. He'd never thought of missing something like that, but now he was so relieved they were back in his life.
As sappy as that was…
Usually Antonio was never caught up at his own sappiness, but at the moment he found himself blushing. He shook himself out of his thoughts and flashed his friend an excited grin.
"Guess who?"
Lovino immediately shifted from shocked to exasperated, rolling his eyes and placing his hands on his hips. "I'm not blind, idiota. I can see who you are."
Antonio pouted. "I wanted to sneak up and cover your eyes like they do on TV."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Lovino asked. It wasn't in a way that sounded as if he didn't want Antonio there. More like he was still trying to make sense of it all in his mind.
"It was only a few hours away, so Franny and I took a road trip." Antonio responded, walking the rest of the distance to Lovino.
"But wh-" Lovino was still grasping for understanding, "How?"
Antonio shrugged. "We drove?" It sounded like a suggestion instead of a statement. Then he remembered. "Oh! My dad got me a car!"
Lovino's eyebrows shot up. "A what?"
"Yeah!" Antonio was excited now. He wanted to tell Lovino all about it. He would have texted him a picture, but Francis had been the first he'd shown since his house was nearby and Francis had convinced him not to tell so they weren't in danger of ruining the surprise.
"But, wait, you only have your permit." Lovino predictably pointed out.
"Everyone's first response." Antonio said, shaking his head good-naturedly.
"And did your dad accompany you on this trip or have you been driving illegally all this way?" Lovino asked, sticking his hand on his hip. Antonio sweated.
"Um, well…"
Lovino's jaw fell open. "Seriously?" Antonio shrugged and Lovino threw his head. "What an idiot."
"So, where are you going?" Antonio asked, shifting the subject.
"Back to Nonno's." Lovino answered, twiddling with something in one hand. "You want to come?"
Antonio nodded, but his gaze was drawn to what the other boy held, twirling and spinning it absently. Antonio blinked blankly at it.
When Lovino turned, probably assuming Antonio would follow, Antonio's confused and quiet voice came unbidden from his mouth. "What's that?"
Lovino paused and looked back. He followed down to where Antonio's eyes were trained and blushed upon realizing what it was he must have been asking. He lifted the rose to get a better view.
In the light, Antonio saw from its deep red coloring that it was fresh, as if it had just been cut that morning. The stem was thornless and the petals regal as it stood with poise. Lovino admired the flower for a moment before looking back to Antonio.
"Oh." Antonio could hear it in Lovino's voice that he was trying to be nonchalant about it, "This? It's a rose, dumbass."
Antonio rolled his eyes at the response. Lovino wasn't the only one with the ability. All the while though, his heart was sinking. He knew what the rose must have been, but that didn't stop him from asking. That didn't stop him from needing to know. "You know what I mean." Antonio said, hoping his voice sounded light. "Where did you get it?"
"Oh," Lovino said again, ducking his head as if he was purposefully avoiding eye contact with Antonio. He twirled the flower once more, down by his side, "Gilbert gave it to me."
The sinking of Antonio's heart accelerated and, before he knew it, it had hit rock bottom in two seconds flat. He was shocked at hearing one of his best friends' names come from Lovino's mouth. Sure, Antonio didn't necessarily know many people in this town, but, even considering this, he'd never expected Gilbert. Had he really heard right?
Antonio stammered out a reply, forgetting to stop to consider his words before he said, "W-why'd he do that?"
Offense immediately rumbled in Lovino's chromatic eyes. Anger. Hurt. Maybe a little sadness too. It all came too quickly for Antonio to be certain.
"Um, I don't know. Maybe because he asked me out?" Lovino crossed his arms over his chest and let out a huff. The rose was safely nestled against his chest where it wasn't in danger of being crushed by the overlapping limbs. Antonio could have sworn the rose was giving him the stink-eye.
"Oh," Antonio laughed, not sure what else to do, "Yeah. Silly me."
Lovino continued to glare at him, seemingly considering if he should remain mad at the other. Antonio pleaded in his head that Lovino would let it go and, by some miracle, he did. He uncrossed his arms and relaxed his shoulders, turning to continue on his way. Antonio jogged up to walk beside him.
Antonio's thoughts were running wild. He hadn't known Gilbert liked Lovino! They may live across the country from one another, but Antonio had always felt like his friendship with Francis and Gilbert was no less strong than when they had lived a couple streets away. Maybe even stronger now that they were older and had faced all the struggles of long-distance friendship. So how could Gilbert not tell him something like this? Was this a more recent development in Gilbert's feelings? Had he come to like Lovino since they'd been working together in that thrift store or had it somehow been longer than that?
Antonio knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help himself…
"What did you say?" He asked nervously. He hoped Lovino couldn't hear that.
Lovino looked back up and Antonio imagined the moment in his mind. Gilbert giving Lovino the rose and scratching his head, asking the stubborn Italian out on a date and probably using the word 'awesome' a couple of times out of nervousness. Lovino probably looked at the rose and bursted out laughing, calling the other a 'German bastard' and asking if it was a joke.
Antonio felt bad for Gilbert already and decided to forgive his friend for not telling him. Maybe he would bring him a big bag of he liked so much when he saw him later. He knew Lovino acted like this because he was genuinely confused that someone would like him like that - he had probably thought Gilbert was joking and trying to make a fool of him - but it didn't make the circumstances any less harsh.
He then realized he was still waiting for Lovino's answer and he looked to his friend to find him silently staring at him. Wait.
Lovino bit his lip and looked away. No.
"You said yes?" Antonio asked incredulously. At the continued silence, Antonio knew he had his answer. He paused in his tracks, processing the information. Lovino stopped too, but continued to avoid his eyes.
Lovino had said yes. To a date. With Gilbert. The guy Lovino had always complained about after their video calls. Who he could argue with for hours over inane things like how disgusting Lovino found German food or how Gilbert could find twenty different insults in regards to Lovino's height in a simple conversation. This was the same guy that, the last time he had visited New York, Lovino had punched him for pulling his hair.
That Gilbert.
When Lovino met his eyes he flushed and hurried to pick up his pace again. He looked much too embarrassed to continue this conversation. "So," Lovino said, "To my Nonno's house then."
All the way there they were silent and Antonio couldn't help but looking down at the rose, held delicately in Lovino's hand. He seemed to handle it with patience and care, something Antonio rarely saw from the other. He didn't miss how Lovino's gaze seemed magnetized to it too. Lovino looked… kind of happy and Antonio could see traces of a smile on his lips.
Even now, Antonio couldn't help always wanting to see Lovino smile.
CV: Here it is! This author has a habit of writing absolute cheese. A part of this was actually too cheesy so I replaced it, but, worry not, it was still replaced with extra cheese.
So... Antonio has finally realized his feelings. But at what cost?! Mwahahaha. Oh, poor boy.
Thanks guys!