One Last Fairytale (Bonus Story): Always There
That day, Antonio went to give his younger half-brother, Francis a visit at his little home. While he knew that the young man had been chased out of the borders by the King of Main Hetalia as a punishment for seducing the Crown Prince, there was something… off with him.
"Francis, what was in your mind?" Antonio finally asked on a certain afternoon when both of them were taking a stroll in Francis' garden. He noted that how his younger brother would dance and sing and twirl around as if he was in a dream. If not, he would sit quietly by the window gazing far away as if he was in a daze looking for something.
Francis ignored him as he gently plucked out some roses and began dancing in circles while pulling out the petals and let them scattered all over the place. Antonio just watched him day-dreaming while hearing Francis humming an unfamiliar tune.
"Now, now Francis, stop it!" Antonio yelled, snapping the blonde out of his daze. Said person stopped his movement and turned to look at him in confusion, "Antonio, when're you h'ere?" Francis asked.
The Crown Prince of Southeast Kingdom just rolled his eyes before replying, "I had been standing here all the time when you came here."
"Oh, is it? Désolé A propos de ça." Francis winked at him before walking up to him, "What didya said just now?"
"I was asking what's in your mind?" Antonio asked. "I mean, you hafta been dilly-daily all over the place since day one you return. You've never been like this before, you know, like a mad teenager in love. So I guess there's been something bothering you in your mind, is it?" Antonio paused for a while when realisation hit him as he faced Francis with wide eyes. "Speaking of which, you should've return weeks ago. You aren't assigned on escorting Seychelles in the Crown Prince court last week, so why you…"
"I swapped my position with the guard…" Francis replied before he could even finished his sentence, "I volunteer to escort Seychelles to Main Hetalia. And I just…" Francis trailed off, walking into the house with Antonio following him.
"And after that, you ended up being kicked back here?" Antonio asked knowingly. "Seriously, you should get a better control of yourself." He huffed and crossed his arms before his chest as if giving a lecture, "you know how much father has to been through just to get you outta that freakin' place?"
Francis whined, "But Tonio, that was something outta mon control." And after that, Francis seemed to have taken another personality. "Ah… Mon Arthur, mon Angleterre… I want to see you…" The blonde cried in a drunken manner as he gazed at his finger where a single silver band circled his ring finger.
At first, Antonio was confused. Until when he noted the ring and the scandalous news of his younger brother, he began putting the pieces together. "W-Wait! Wait a minute, don't tell me… y-you…" He stuttered, fearing for the worst.
Dark emerald green eyes locked into a pair of sparkling blue orbs that reflected full of despair. Before he had time to continue, the younger one lunged himself at him and embracing him. "Why does this thing has to happen?" He lamented. "Can't they see that I truly love you, Arthur? Or is it just because of the commoner blood I carried? You understand how it felt right, mon petit lapin? My father is a royalty but my mother a commoner and even though my family loved me, I will never be treated in the same place as the royalty… I will live forever as a person just one level above the commoner…"
"Francis, snap out of it!" Antonio snapped, grabbing Francis by the collar. "Do you really think that people will approve of your relationship with a Crown Prince? That's absurd, you know it already from what treatment they had given you. Besides, do you think that the Crown Prince would even give a shit to your feeling? I bet he's just playing with your feeling."
Francis shook his head in denial, not convinced by his words. "T-That's… impossible, Antonio. Don't you understand? I saw it by myself and felt it all by myself." The blonde said, clenching his fist tight as agony, despair, sorrow and all sort of emotion boiled within him. "Arthur truly love me… He told me, he will never love any of those princesses. If he didn't love me, then why would he let me get so close to him? We even had our first time together, it felt as if we were made for each other."
Antonio took a step back when he heard what Francis had said. "W-What? Y-You… You did that with him?"
"It's a sign that of true love!" Francis corrected him. "Whose fault is this? Love has no border, no limitation and no rules. It worked naturally upon our feelings… So is it wrong to love someone with a status higher than you? Has anyone said that before?"
At this point, Antonio became speechless. He knew that it was useless to convince Francis to change his mind, his deed was already done. To be precise, he knew that his younger brother was a flirt, a trait he inherited from his father. But most of the time, he lured young girls just for entertainment, he didn't even go that far because he knew Francis didn't truly love them at all. He never thought that Francis would fall for the Crown Prince and became so mad in love, that's just not like the Francis he usually know. And again, he had to admit that Francis was right, it's not Francis' fault that the Crown Prince loved him, it's just how love works upon them. Antonio just heaved a sigh, hoping that Francis and his little lover won't get into much of a trouble being together.
"I give up. It looks like you're dead set on it that I can't do anything. But, what do you plan on doing now? There's no way you can return back to Main Hetalia, they will kill you."
Determination flared up in the blonde's blue eyes as he clenched his fist on his lap. "I don't care what they're planning to do to me. But I will save my Angleterre out no matter what." He stood up and looked out from the window as if seeing a faraway vision. "I had promised to bring him to see the Northern Light, even if it means kidnapping him. I will take him with me, take him away from sadness and sorrow, just like how a prince swept away his princess so that they lived happily ever after, right?"
Antonio held down a chuckle. "You can try, but there's no way you'd stood a chance winning." He walked up next to his half-brother's side and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "But if you're so into it, I might give you some useful advice. From what I heard from father, the Crown Prince was confined into his room with security 24/7. The King has arranged him to marry Princess Liech of the North Kingdom by this coming Wednesday… which the Northerner are not very happy with the decision…"
Francis was silent at the piece of information given. He was stunt at the moment as if trying to decode what Antonio informed him. A small smirk spread across Antonio's face as he stood up and ready to leave. "Father isn't going to object your spouse, he gave you his blessing. And I will give you mine too." He said, causing Francis to close his mouth upon receiving the news, it was just too sudden. "Better hurry, prince charming. Go and save your 'princess' before it was too late." Antonio said teasingly before leaving the room, silently praying to himself that Francis got his little hint.
Antonio didn't heard much about Francis after that. Though he received news from his father that High Princess Katyusha raided her army led by Vash and succeeded from Main Hetalia, it was also mentioned that the Crown Prince was kidnapped in the incident as well. He may not know the full story well enough, but he could definitely attest that Francis may have involved in the rebel as well.
His questions were answered the next day just after the North Kingdom had succeeded Main Hetalia. A letter from Francis was delivered to him, stating that he has ran away with the Crown Prince and went to live in the North Kingdom under High Princess Katyusha's protection. He was not going to return, since the kingdom no longer allied with Main Hetalia, but he promised that he will write letters whenever he had time. That time, Antonio felt a pang of jealousy stabbed him but he gave Francis his blessing and wished him the best.
Francis' letters had been quite discreet after the first one. The contents were almost the same with nothing interesting, except to note that he was living well in the Northern Kingdom. That was when a second long letter came six years after the first one, and the news truly shocked both Antonio and his father. Francis stated that he don't know how it had all happened, but his spouse, the Crown Prince, was pregnant with his child! And that was more than enough to let High Prince Roman jumping all over the place exasperating about being a grandfather while lamenting Antonio for not getting a woman sooner or later like Francis had, which really annoyed him to no end that he no longer had the mood to continue reading Francis' letter. And again, Antonio could feel jealousy began boiling within him.
Speaking about babies, a new set of twins was welcomed into the Southeast family. Antonio sighed again, that ol' man of his had fucked up another lady. It was no surprise when he learnt that the mother of the twins was Francis' mother's sister, another servant in the Southeast castle. Undoubtfully, the two ladies are related, which made them had the same charm that attracted High Prince Roman. Antonio just don't understood why his father was so attached to them, they weren't very pretty, save for those wavy blonde hair and fair skin tone, and their personality perhaps, he just don't get it.
"Antonio, my boy, come and meet your new brothers." Roman said heartily as he led his eldest son to the nursery chamber. He entered the room and met a pair of identical twins. Both looked so much alike that he can't even tell them apart. Roman did inform him that the boy with lighter brown hair and brown cheery eyes was Feliciano, the other one was Lovino, whose hair was deep auburn and dark green eyes like his. He was not sure whether he had actually listened to his father's words, because he had never know how to tell them apart, and it was very confusing.
Watching the twins growing up wasn't something enjoyable for Antonio either. He was jealous that everyone has a mother by their side taking care of them and giving them warm hugs to comfort them, even those who were poor had a mother, but him, a prince don't. He never had much memories of his mother, they said she was a beautiful lady with dark red hair and green eyes similar to his that matched her elegance and noble pride. But those were just rumours to him, not an experience. His father leaked out to him on one drunken night that his mother died shortly after his birth, which Antonio felt that he himself was to be blamed, though no one did. He just felt that he always lacked a piece of something compared to others, a motherly love.
Yet, devastating news came months after the surprise message. The North Kingdom was under attack by army led by Main Hetalia. The entire fortress and castle collapsed into rumble within hours. Arthur, Vash, Liech and the children barely made it out alive, but the rest weren't so lucky. High Princess Katyusha was killed, Francis, Roderich and Elizaveta were nowhere to be seen and were assumed to be dead as well. Everyone was devastated by the news. Driven by grief, the young crown prince came to them for help in hope he could avenge his lover's death. With that, rulers of Southeast Kingdom and Western Kingdom vowed to help the Crown Prince in overthrowing his father so he could take over the throne.
Antonio did took part in discussing battle strategy and came up with proper battle plan, but he did not get to join the battlefield thanks to his father who asked him to go and retrieve something from the kitchen cabinet only ended up to be locked up. Antonio was still mad about this, he wanted to avenge Francis, but that was never done. And after the battle, those whom they thought were dead actually returned back with just tear and scratches but nothing serious, which surprised everyone. His father and High Prince Germania were the only casualties on that night, that old man might have seen it coming all the while and had not let his life go waste.
Once the rebellion was over, things went on as usual. He was ascended as High Prince Antonio of the Southeast Kingdom. Gilbert was too young to take the throne, so the authority was given to Roderich and Elizaveta who would act as Gilbert and Ludwig's guardian. The same goes to Natalia, but she was adopted by the Crown Prince himself and the kingdom affairs were handled by Vash and Liech. Francis went to rule alongside with Arthur after Main Hetalia castle was rebuilt and restored. They brought their children as well as both the Northern children with them. Being rulers and having to raise four children at one time, they had quite a hard time handling that.
Everyone was so busy in raising children, and Antonio found himself in the same situation as well. Ever since his father's death, he have to take over full responsibility in taking care of his youngest twin brothers. Sadly, the twin's mother died of an illness months ago before the fall of the old North Kingdom, a similar case that happened to Francis' mother years ago, a compilation that runs in the family line. Thank goodness that both Francis and the twins looked healthy enough, Antonio could worry less about that.
But his real nightmare was raising the twins all by himself. Antonio was not married, something that his father complained for not being a grown-up. Long before when Antonio was 18 years old, his father has arranged meeting and engagement with young eligible women in hope that he will find himself a suitable spouse to rule alongside with him. However, Antonio was rather unlucky, he didn't have his father's flirtatious trait nor his brother's charming demeanour, which ended up with him returning empty handed or being rejected by the girls. And after several failure attempts and breakup, Antonio completely gave up in hope of finding a spouse.
And it has become a nightmare that would haunt Antonio for a lifetime since he don't know how to take care a child like what Gilbert said 'you're really hopeless.' He didn't even know how to tell the twins apart! And when he attempted to make bottled milk for them, the hot water would ended up scalding his hand and milk would spill all over the place, only to get the servant to clean it up and helped him with it while the twins would stare at him amusingly.
Well, perhaps he did struggled for quite a while in the beginning. As the boys began their first steps, Antonio began to grow more familiar to their behaviour, which allowed him to tell them apart easier. On one evening, he was enjoying some of his free time while watching the twins playing around. It was then when he heard one of them cry. He rushed to the scene only to see Lovino pulling Feliciano's hair. The younger of the twin cried in agony as he tried to wring himself out of his brother's grasp. Lovino then delivers a kick which sent him tumbling onto the ground, causing the poor little boy to wail even louder.
"Lovi, what the heck are you doing to your brother?!" Antonio questioned as he quickly went to help the poor boy up to his feet.
"Chigi!" The boy just exclaimed. Antonio froze on the spot, how did Lovino said such words, at the mere age of 2? Oh no, he must've picked it up when Antonio was nearby swearing, how could he be so careless?
"You aren't supposed to say that!" Antonio lectured him.
"You said that!" The younger boy retorted back, "Idiota!" Antonio would've faint on the spot when Lovino blurted out another word. He quickly scooped Feliciano in his arms and carried the boy to his room. "I will be back later." He told the other boy before disappearing upstairs. But then, he noticed that something was glistening in the boy's brown orbs before he completely lost sight of him.
A year after the mourning ceremony of the previous royals, Antonio intended to regain the title of Southeast Kingdom as the liveliest kingdom in the world. Therefore, he would held some dancing or festival event in the castle and the central square of the city in hope to regain its former liveliness. The people were happy with the freedom given and Antonio was more than happy to see his people enjoying their life in the streets.
When the twins were around 4 years old of age, Antonio would occasionally bring them for a walk in the city and letting them enjoying some of the events. Feliciano would happily played along with children about the same age as him but Lovino was completely the opposite, he'd preferred sitting alone glaring at everyone. People would try to approach and talk to him, only for him to scare them away.
"You should join the crowd. You will find some fun in it." Antonio told him one day during the autumnal festival. "You should enjoy your childhood before you lost it." He said while seeing the people danced to the music as the sky began to colour a hue of red, orange and pink.
"I don't like it." Lovino said with a frown.
"How can you said that? You never tried it before."
"I have fuckin' trying it already, 'kay? Many times, but I don't enjoy all these stupid things at all."
"Now, now, Lovino, don't speak like that in the public." Antonio said, glancing around to make sure that no one listened to their conversation (thankfully no one did). Feeling himself becoming speechless, the High Prince of Southeast Kingdom just gave Lovino a gentle pat on his back for reassurance before he got up to conclude the event.
However, happy things were not meant to last long. Danger was still lurking when people were not expecting it.
It was another event Antonio had decided to throw in the castle during winter, or what people would refer to as 'The Winter Ball'. Nobility across the land came to attend this majestic ceremony, including Roderich and Elizaveta, Gilbert and Ludwig was left behind at the West Kingdom. Vash and Liech remained isolated as usual in the North Kingdom, Arthur and Francis kindly declined the invitation since they had their hands full with the children. In the beginning, everyone was enjoying the life of their time dancing and having fun on that night. Feliciano played along with other children while Lovino continued to stray away from the crowd.
That was when it happened. There was a scream erupted from the crowd. Antonio turned around to see what the racket was about and saw two men armed with swords attacking at the civilians. One man who was trying to protect a lady was gravely injured by one of them. The crowd who witnessed this panicked and began to flee the room. Roderich and Elizaveta helped the soldiers to escort the people to safety while fighting with the attackers. Antonio turned back to where Feliciano and Lovino were once at, only to find them gone.
No one had ever seen Antonio being so panic stricken before, he was always a laid back person most of the time, though serious when it comes to battle and duty. But this time, he did let himself loose as if he was on fire. The Southeast High Prince ran out of the ballroom into whatever direction he feet brought him to. He was afraid that the worst would come, Francis had informed him before regarding the collapse of Main Hetalia castle. And his father had also said that Feliciano and Lovino could be a target too since their blood is similar to that of Francis. He could care less about other stuff, but what matters now were their safety.
Antonio raced all his way out until he found himself in the castle garden. Guards performing their patrol saluted at him. Panting, the High Prince gave a brief but clear order to seal every exit in the castle and watched out for intruders. The guards in charge didn't questioned much, just bowed before heading off for his duty. Two guards joined by Antonio's side to help him search for the lost princes. They ran around the large garden maze, almost getting lost in it, but they found no signs of the children. They decided to retreat back when they heard screams echoing from the other side. Antonio ran straight towards the source of voice and found Feliciano huddling with other children at one corner of the maze.
"Feli!" Antonio sighed in relief as he went to embrace his younger brother. "It's okay now, I'm here." He said reassuringly while wiping away the tears that were rolling down the boy's cheek. Poor little one must be scared of all the battles and frightful scenes that happened just now. "Where's Lovino?"
"Fratello…" The little boy sniffed and sobbed before continued, "H-He… Fratello run away… some scary men are chasing him." And that news struck Antonio like a lightning. He quickly ordered the guards to bring the children back to safety in the castle while he alone continued to search for Lovino.
Antonio ran out from the maze where Feliciano was and ran in whatever direction his feet decided to. All his thought on that grumpy boy, praying to god for his safety. He was about to head back to the castle when he noticed a path made by someone. The flower bushes were in a mess as if someone had just ruined it, and there were some footprints left on the grass. Finding a glimmer of hope, Antonio followed the tracks until he reached a secret part hidden in the garden.
"Now, now, that's not a right way to be a hero, you little bastard." He could heard someone said tauntingly. "There's no escape now. But I cannot let you go either, I was given orders to kill you." The man said as a wicked smile crossed his feature, placing his glinting knife before the little boy in a threatening manner.
"L-Let me go, bastard!" Lovino yelled and struggled as a futile attempt to escape, but the man has an iron grip on him. He picked up Lovino with ease as the young boy began thrashing around.
"Stop! Don't hurt him!" Antonio came out from his hiding spot and stood before the man glaring at him menacingly. "Leave that boy alone! He don't deserve to be dead!"
"And do you have the right to command me, High Prince Antonio?" The man said mockingly. "Your kingdom was one of them who caused our downfall, especially for that stupid father of yours. Well, at least both our efforts weren't wasted, he got what he deserved for helping the Crown Prince who caused nothing but hell to the kingdom."
Antonio gritted his teeth in anger before spatting out, "My father is not stupid! He's a ruler with justice and understanding, unlike that ol' insane king of yer who crushed people's happiness just because they were against your stupid rules!" He took a deep breath before he continued, "What's the problem with a prince loving a commoner or someone of lower status than him? It's just how love works, no one's fault."
"And then what's the end?" The man smirked. "Until the end, you all chose to betray my king just for someone else happiness. I'm sorry, but I had to kill you too since you're against my king."
"We do this isn't just because of Crown Prince Arthur!" Antonio made it clear. "We all do this for the sake of our loved ones as well! People like you who were so greedy with power and stick to your rules will never understand the feeling of caring someone you love."
He was about to continue with his rambling but the soldier suddenly raised his sword and placed it threateningly at Lovino's neck. "If you speak another word defiling my king or if you dare to make a move, he will be killed in a flash." At this point, Antonio was silenced. Making a gulp before gritting his teeth, he took a cautious step back, stupid solider using a poor, innocent child as hostage. He won't forgive him! But even though he really wanted to use his sword and slit at the person's throat, he knew better consequences in doing so, that man would've work faster than him and killed Lovino instantly. He surely don't want to risk it. The man just smirked as he walked towards him triumphantly, pressing the blade deeper into Lovino's throat. "What now? Are you scared already?"
And at this point, fear seemed to have taken over Lovino that he began screaming. "Save me, you fucking idiot!" On cue, Lovino urinated out of panic that dirtied the man's hand and some part of his body that he let go of Lovino in disgust. Antonio took this as his chance and went off to kill the insane soldier in a single slash. Lovino closed his eyes in fear when blood splattered all over his face. When he opened his eyes, the man was already dead in a pool of blood, his dead eyes staring directly at him.
"Lovino, are you alright?" Antonio didn't even care to clean himself up, he quickly went by Lovino's side and hugged him but the young boy pushed him away. Realisation hit him that he had just killed a person in front of a child, it must've terrified him to no end. "L-Lovino… L-listen, I-I…" He tried to come up with a proper explanation but the boy did not want to hear his rambling. He shoved Antonio aside and quickly left the garden, leaving Antonio alone to think about what he had done, but the most mesmerizing thing he remembered was how fearful and upset the boy's eyes look when staring at him.
Later that night, Elizaveta and Roderich informed Antonio that they had slain and caught some of the men who were trying to cause riot in the castle. The ringleader, though, had escaped. And from what they remembered, it was a familiar old man figure. Antonio did some questioning on his prisoners but choose not to give them freedom as they were beyond insane. Though he already knew the answer without needing any questioning, the old mad King wanted revenge and he was taking this out on Antonio's family because they were part of the rebellion who helped Arthur to success the throne. He had the nightmare several times before that, witnessing Feliciano and Lovino's death that was just too much to handle. He managed to save them (Lovino was barely alive) this time, but he was worried that the same thing would happened again, so he need to do something in order to protect the twin.
Ever since that particular incident, Antonio had greatly reduced the need to hold festive event. Even if there's an event being held, he would not allowed the twins to leave the castle ground, though sometimes he would caught one of them running away for a when his guard was lower. He also attempted cross-dressing them as girls so as to keep their identity intact. Feliciano didn't seem to have a problem with this, as if thinking that he was a girl after all, though he got very upset when his friends no longer wants to be with him. Lovino was completely the opposite, freaking out and protesting most of the time when the maids tried to dress him up in a dress, but decided to go along after several useless thrashing about. Antonio felt bad for them, Lovino especially, he don't want to force them into doing what they don't like anymore. But it was still particularly harsh for him, as they continued to grow, 'Felicia' became a charming, cheerful 'girl' and 'Lovina' began picking up more words and grew very conscious of her surrounding that 'she' would yell profanity at anyone who seems to offend her, including Antonio himself. He couldn't help but found himself gazing into a pair of emerald pools reflecting his own confusion.
Antonio's nightmare prediction did came true two years after that incident. He had tried to warn Arthur about it, but little could be done to it. It just happened on one peaceful looking day a few days after Prince Alfred and Prince Matthew's 7th birthday. That was the first time Antonio brought the girls out of their kingdom for a visit in another kingdom. Though Antonio really wished to stay a little longer, he had to take his leave soon due to work. And when news about the tragedy hit him, he felt sorry but can't do anything for the people there and their losses. He felt himself so useless and vulnerable that he don't know what to do. He didn't even knew he was crying until he felt someone handed him a kerchief to wipe off the tears.
"L-Lovi?" Antonio blinked in confusion as he accepted the kerchief, surprised to see Lovina comforting him.
"Stop crying, adults don't cry." The child said.
Antonio just sniffed. "Why are you comforting me?" He asked, feeling embarrassed to cry in front of a child.
Lovina was quiet for a moment, before saying, "Your face don't look good crying, it's better you smile like you usually did."
And it was Antonio's turn to be silent. His tears had stopped flowing, he could felt heat rising up his cheeks. Breaking his face into a big grin, he enveloped the younger one into a hug before the other even had time to react. "You're so cute, Lovi."
The young princess struggled and kicked around for a moment until she was finally released from the elder's embrace. She just glared at him red-faced, as if saying, 'what the hell was that for, bastard?!' The two stared at each other for a moment before she huffed, turned away and broke the silence. "I didn't mean anything…" She said shyly, "It's just… Your eyes just looked like my eyes when I'm sad…" She quickly fled after blurting it out, not wanting Antonio to see her face.
And time flies again, everyone mourned and grieved those whom they lost before they moved on, continued their life fulfilling their goals. Antonio continued with his daily routine, work and meeting, and sometimes attending events to freshen up himself. And already at the age of 45, he was still not married, which the council were not happy with it. They had made numerous attempts to persuade him to find a spouse or introduced him some nice ladies in hope that he would live up to his responsibility and produced an heir for the next generation. Still, Antonio remained unmoved by their decision to the point that he forbid his council to talk about his marriage prospect, the officers could do nothing but gave up their effort in searching a bride-to-be.
Eleven years were gone instantly in just a blink. The twins were no longer little children, and they were not addressed as 'princesses' anymore. Antonio had decided to break to them about their true identity after years of hiding and disguising as a girl, explaining all the purpose he did and apologizing over and over again that he troubled them throughout the years. Both 'princess', now realizing their identity as 'princes' were having a hard time adjusting themselves to live as a boy. Such that they got their previously long rich brown hair trimmed and began wearing clothes that looked more boyish. Feliciano would often behaved like a girl of proper manner and etiquette, totally forgetting that he was a man especially when he begged to dance with a man on one dance. Lovino began to make use of his gender that his behaviour took a large impact on it, often spat and throw strings of bad languages in front of guests whom he felt insecure with.
Both princes had already sprung into a pair of fully mature adults, with attractive features and distinctive personality. Feliciano had grown up into a charming young man with a face that could make him the center of attention. Accompany with his carefree and cheerful personality, he could easily flirt and charmed young ladies and men alike, a trait which he inherited from his father, the late High Prince Roman. Somehow, Antonio was jealous. He admired both Francis and Feliciano ability to win over people's heart and attention. Francis had easily won over the heart of the usually stern and rude Crown Prince, he already had a family earlier than Antonio did. And someday, he believed that Feliciano is going find himself a good future prospect. The boy has always been talented in all sort of skills like art, music and even trade. Thanks to him, the economy in Southeast Kingdom has improved greatly due to his trading skills.
Lovino, however, was rather the opposite of Feliciano. His life was a bit of that of Antonio, or what his father sometimes would call him as 'a charmless loser'. Like Antonio, he did tried to flirt with young ladies as well, but the ladies would end up turning away from him probably because of his behaviour or his usually grumpy expression. Besides, the young man's skills was even lower than normal unlike that of his brother. Antonio felt s surge of sympathy for the older of the twin but he felt Lovino was just like the younger reflection of him, the same eyes, the same fate and the same sadness.
And so, it had come to this. It was Crown Prince Alfred's eighteen birthday and the kings had decided to hold a masquerade banquet so that Alfred could find himself a suitable spouse. While it sounded lively and fun, Antonio knew it better than the rest. It was rather a farewell ceremony to your childhood and stepping into adulthood, meaning a world of duty and responsibility, not of dream and fantasy, they're all gone. And it was not easy finding a suitable spouse as well, someone as unlucky as Antonio was enough to see too many heartbreak and break up that he swore to himself that he will never get married.
As usual, Antonio sat along with other royals as they oversee the crowd dancing all over the dance floor. Occasionally, he would join the dance as well. Though he tried to hide his annoyed expression, the young ladies would flirt with him and struck some conversation, mainly commenting on his 'still single' status. And that was just more than enough to make Antonio winced in disgust when he made himself clear how old he has become, there's no way he would find a girl too young for his age. Moreover, he just can't handle lust like his father, doing it just made him feel sick.
Antonio took retirement from dancing after several hours, heaving a sigh of relief to leave that hell of a place. He gratefully accepted a glass of wine from a servant before heading out to the balcony to inhale some fresh air. What surprised him, however, was he met up with the sight of Lovino leaning his back on the balcony railing while eyes hidden beneath the mask scanning the dance hall with a frown.
"What a surprise to see you here, Lovi." Antonio commented jokingly, taking a sip of wine. "Do you enjoy dancing with all those young girls?"
Said question only caused Lovino to frown even deeper as he huffed, "They aren't my fucking interest at all. They're just a bunch of bitch."
Antonio just chuckled. "I thought you're always trying to find pleasure in young ladies. Moreover, shouldn't you find yourself a suitable spouse to marry?"
"As if I would fucking do that!" Lovino exclaimed. "Why should I find a girl? My spouse can also be a man if I had a choice." He added, "Moreover, girls are all the same, pretentious and care for nothing but themselves."
"Hmm… Perhaps you have a point there…" Antonio said nodding his head, "But that's not an excuse to not marry."
The younger prince turned around and glared at him. "And what about you?! You're so old and still not marry, everyone was tired on finding a spouse for you and just when are you going to get an heir to take over you?"
Antonio shook his head. "Like you, I had no interest in girls at all." He explained. "I know it's hard, but I just can't find myself the right person." He said this as if it came out of his mind. Their conversation was interrupted when Lovino noticed Feliciano talking with a certain blonde hair man. Later that night, it made him wonder that made him said those words. Whenever he thinks about it, he would be reminded about Lovino, the little child who rebel and refuse to listen to orders. A child who has a unique personality but was not appreciated in this world. That boy would always reminded him of his younger self, as if they were connected, why would that be?
And so the next night, Antonio had voluntarily invited Lovino for a dance. The younger prince seemed to ponder about the offer but decided to accept it anyway since it was just for the sake of other people watching them.
But then, they had just only danced for half an hour when they came across Feliciano waltzing with Ludwig. At this point, Antonio could feel Lovino tensed up in anger as he glared at the couple that he accidentally stepped on Antonio's foot. The younger one embarrassingly mumbled and apology before excusing himself from the dance hall. Antonio just watched him retired in confusion.
"Is something the matter, Lovi?" Antonio asked, heading to the balcony where Lovino was.
"It's nothing, really." Lovino lied. When Antonio pressed on, he had no choice but decided to speak the truth. "I just got jealous when Feliciano got hooked up with a certain young man."
"You mean that guy dancing with Feli?" Antonio glanced to catch a glimpse of the couple dancing. "He is Prince Ludwig of Western Kingdom, High Prince Gilbert's younger brother, though illegitimate."
"So, I'm right after all. He's that stupid potato bastard years ago." Lovino cursed.
Antonio shushed him from saying any other dirty stuff. "I don't see anything wrong with that." He said, "Beside, they really made a good matching, don't they?"
"Si, si, whatever you said, when Feliciano decided to runaway with that guy, then you will be all alone." Lovino said mockingly.
"Oh, I have been lonelier than I have been." Antonio said in a mockingly hurt tone. "Besides, I still got you by my side."
"Oh, shut it!" Lovino yelled, red colouring his cheeks.
There was a moment of silence before Antonio broke it with a serious tone, "Lovi, what do you think about me?"
Lovino seemed stunned at the statement, but decided to answer anyway. "My feelings for you? Who cares for a stupid tomato bastard like you?!"
"You do." Antonio said jokingly, face cracking into a grin.
"I didn't fucking say that!"
"Then why would you accept my offer to dance with me? I saw you had been rejecting several ladies just now."
"CHIGI!"
"Oh, you're so cute, Lovi~" Antonio laughed for quite a while before he finally hold himself down and returned to his serious mode. "But, I'm really serious with my question, Lovi."
And again, Lovino was silent for a moment. The cool summer breeze blew by, they seemed deaf to the world but the swaying leaves of the trees. "I… I just… d-don't know…" He stuttered. "If I were to be honest… I could said that I do not hate you, but I don't really like you either."
"How is it that you can't hate me if you don't like me?"
"Like I said, I don't know." Lovino shrugged. "But then, you kinda always remind me of how similar we look. We were both luckless in love, we have no sort of talent at all and all we want to do is just to relax and enjoy our lifetime, don't you feel the same?"
Antonio couldn't help but surprised by the younger prince's words. He always thought that Lovino was blunt, perhaps even more than a dope of his brother. But here, he really gave Antonio another new eye. This boy was also an observant, just like his brother, but he just not that straightforward and don't really express himself like the other twin. "H-How… How did you know that?" Antonio gasped.
"I'm with you all the time!" Lovino said. "And not just because of that, it's because you and Feli are the only members of my family closest to me."
Antonio somehow understood what the boy was saying. When little, the boy would often cause trouble on his younger brother and spoke some inappropriate words for a child. At first, he thought the boy just wanted attention from those around it or maybe something for fun since children tend to act without proper reason. But over the time, he realized that that was not just it. The boy was lonely, and jealous too. He had lost his parents at young age, it was hard for him already. And when compared with his brother, the younger brother would always steal the spotlight and he ended up being ignored. Other than his appearance, he didn't have anything similar to Feliciano, so he was jealous with all the attention Feliciano got while he was abandoned. Watching the grumpy boy growing up, Antonio somehow saw the younger him within the boy, a simpleton with nothing whatsoever special and strife to live up to people's expectation. Antonio made it through after all those vigorous training that his father finally approved him, that was more than enough to make him happy. But for Lovino, no one would approved him. And somehow, the boy made Antonio forget about other thing else and just sympathy the boy, he wanted to hug him and comfort him as a way of approving him, he wanted to love him and pay him all the attention only at him.
But wait, why is he thinking about this? Antonio snapped himself from his thought and faced Lovino, who was watching him expectantly. Gathering his courage, Antonio posed a question. "So, have you think about having a family?"
Lovino heaved a sigh and gazed into the moonlight. "I wish that I could have a complete, loving family." He said. "You and Feli are the only one left in my family. But now, Feli got hooked up with that potato bastard. So it's possible that someday he will leave too, and then you too, then I'll be all alone."
So that was why Lovino was so mad when he saw Feliciano dancing with Ludwig. He don't want to lose someone closest to him, his very own twin brother. It hurt him to see someone left him again.
And is that a reason why Antonio never married until now? Antonio couldn't tell the answer. That night, he just laid on his bed, staring emptily at the ceiling. Why does his chest hurt so much? It always felt itching when he was with Lovino, but why does it hurt till the extent that he felt like he was burning? This couldn't be… right? The feelings he had for the younger prince, what is it?
"How did you and Crown Prince Arthur fell in love?" Antonio remembered this one private conversation he had with his half-brother, Francis. "I'm surprise that you can made someone as hot-headed as the crown prince to fall in love with you. Is this a joke?"
"Nonsense, Antonio. That's just how love works." Francis said as he took a sip of his wine. "It's because of that personality of his, I like that. And when we first met, I can already tell that we're already falling in love."
"There's no zuch zhing as love in zhe first sight…" Antonio mumbled like a person who had just lost his heart.
"Pff… You can be so clueless when it comes to love, you're really father's idiot." Francis said cheekily. "Love knows no boundary and has no principle. When it's time to work, it works by itself, guiding you all the way to the person you're destined to."
"If things can be so simple, I wouldn't have been unmarried yet."
"I told 'cha, you're just too blunt when it comes to love stuff, mon ami." At first, Antonio just don't know what Francis was implying. But now, it seemed like he finally had the answer to the question. It was not because he was luckless in love, he just haven't met the right person.
On the third night, Antonio did not caught sight of Lovino anywhere in the ball. Worried, he asked Feliciano, who told him that Lovino went to the garden to relieve himself. Without hesitating, the Southeast High Prince took his leave for the garden where he found the younger prince standing by the pond in the garden.
"Lovi, are you alright?" Antonio asked.
What surprised him even further was that he noticed tears glistening in Lovino's eye. "Lovi, what's wrong?"
Sad green eyes looked at him before their owner threw himself onto Antonio. "I'm… I'm a garbage."
"What are you talking about Lovi?" Antonio asked in confusion.
"I said I'm a fucking garbage!" Lovino said, louder this time. "No matter what I did or what I try, nobody will ever like me, I can never be like Feliciano. I'm just a useless bastard that has nothing at all."
"Lovi, that's not true." Antonio said soothingly. "You're not useless, there's always something you're good at." The High Prince rubbed soothing circle on the boy's back as he gazed into the clear night sky. "You had always know how to treasure those whom you hold dear to. You are sharp enough to notice things people don't. And even though you didn't stand out as good as Feliciano, it doesn't mean your effort are wasted, it was just that you try harder than any other people."
Lovino's sob had grown quieter by now. He just looked at Antonio with teary eyes, seemingly to expect something from him. Antonio gently used his thumb to wipe off the tears staining his face. "You know, when you first caught me crying. I thought you will tease me for being a crybaby but you comfort me and even gave me a new light. And I realize that just how special you are but I just don't know why. That was, when I realize that my life was never lonely ever since you're born, it's because you lit up my light."
"What are you saying, tomato bastard?" Lovino questioned, turning his face away so that Antonio won't see his face. But he didn't expect a confession to come soon.
"I like you, Lovi. Don't you realize it? I finally understand why I was not able to find myself a suitable spouse until now. It's because, you're the rightful person for me."
"That's nonsense, you idiot!" Lovino exclaimed. "We're siblings and we can't marry. A-And you're too old for my age!"
"Does age truly matter? Does our relation is really such a trouble?" Antonio sighed and turned away. "I know it sounded strange and bordering impossible, but there's no way I could lie about my feeling. I just want to honestly tell you about how I feel for you. It's up to you to accept it or not. It's alright if you don't accept me, I understand how you feel and I won't bother you anymore, just be honest to yourself. Sorry 'bout that, I will leave you alone." He was about to walk away when he felt a hand tugged at him.
"Wait, don't go. T-there… There's something I want to tell you as well." Lovino stammer, not letting the High Prince see his face. Antonio turned back and felt hope tugged on his chest.
"I-I… I know it sounded strange… But… But I really do love you, Antonio. Not as an older brother or a High Prince, it… it's just like how lovers do." He lifted his head up a bit, letting Antonio caught sights of his cute blushing face that resembled like a tomato. "I-I just realize it myself too… But then, I was afraid… I was scared that people will reject our relationship, a-and… And they will force us apart and we will never be together again…"
"No, nothing will do us apart." Antonio said as he handed a beautiful daffodil to Lovino. "You're jealous that Feli had someone to love. But apart from that, do you wish your brother to have a lifetime of happiness and love from this person whom he loved?"
"S-Si…" Lovino mumbled just audible enough for Antonio to hear. "I just hope that Feli would be happy together with that potato bastard, even though he is stupid."
"Then we are the same." Antonio decided. "No matter what, where or when, I will always be by your side, just like the time when I watched over you growing up. There's no need to care about the others, what matters is we will be together from now onwards to the very end. Don't betray your feeling, it will only hurt yourself."
"That was a cheeky answer, idiot." Smiling a bit, Lovino accepted the daffodil—a sign of unrequited love, from his lover. "So, does that mean you're finally engage?" Lovino asked mockingly.
"You can said so." Antonio grinned, "After all this party thing is over and we finally go back home, we will have to adopt a child."
"W-wait, do you mean adopt? You're going to have an heir?"
"As a High Prince, I need an heir to pass down my legacy. And that means, we're going to start our married life as a family."
"Idiota! We haven't said our vows and exchange rings yet, how can you thought about this so fast?!"
"Because tonight is our wedding night!" Antonio proclaimed. "There's no need to let anyone know, do we?"
"But there's no need to rush."
"Ahh… Okay, okay, all that can wait for later." Antonio said. "For now, let's enjoy our first dance as engaged couple." He said and pulled Lovino back into the dance hall. Ignoring the staring eyes from the crowd, both of them waltz crazily around the room as if they were deaf to the music. While embarrassed, Lovino just couldn't help but smiled at the person, his brother, caretaker, then lover. And here, he will be by his side forever, always there for him, always there…
xXx
This chapter took a whole lot of my time. And again, I'm stuck with even more assignment, homework and tests that I can barely breathe. I may not be able to update regularly but I hope you all would enjoy reading my story while waiting patiently for my new chapter.
When I was writing this chapter, I had a hard time with the plot. Spamano isn't really on my top list and I just don't quite know how to portray the characters. I just tried to make it as simple as possible since this is just a side story. As usual, I hope you enjoy reading it and feel free to leave me a review to make up my day.
There would be a few more bonus chapter featuring several minor pairings. But other than that, the main storyline will soon come to an end. And I promise, everyone will surely get their own Happily Ever After.