GROUP DATE

Friday or FREE-YAY or FLY-DAY was the favorite day of ANY student. It was a night of relaxation, debauchery; a night where anything happens. It was the prelude to the weekends. Today was also the day agreed by Lovino, Feliciano, and Antonio to eat dinner together.

Lovino changed his clothes at least three times; he wanted to make sure he looked impeccable. He always looked his best but today was special compared to other days. The older Vargas had two hours left until he was supposed to meet Feliciano and Antonio. It was plenty of time to find an appropriate outfit. The young man decided to settle for a pink polo with jeans and black sneakers. He hoped to give off a smart-casual vibe. He decided to use a silver watch to complete the get-up.

Lovino gave himself a nod of approval with how he looked. When he looked at the time, he had an hour left. He didn't have anything to do; and there was no harm in going ahead of time. It wasn't as if he was excited to meet the two idiots.

It was a blessing that Lovino left early since the traffic was heavy. Thirty minutes later, he arrived at Acacia - a tree-house themed bistro. Even if it was still seven, the place was getting crowded. Lovino walked to the second floor and saw Feliciano and Ludwig, being lovey-dovey. To be precise, they were just sitting beside each other but Lovino could feel the couple's oozing their own brand of public display of affection. He sat himself across the couple. Feliciano gave him a warm greeting while Ludwig gave a curt one. The two balanced each other's characteristics very well.

Lovino wasn't interested with the inane chatter of his idiot brother and his macho boyfriend. He was bored and decided to while away the time through browsing his Facebook news feed until the next person would arrive. Three minutes later, Lovino felt a warm body sitting beside him. The young man wasn't timing anyone; he was just bored and he kept looking at the digital clock in the upper right side of the screen.

In his peripheral, he caught that brown hair and goofy smile which belonged to Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. His heart was starting to beat like crazy; Lovino tried to rationalize with himself but it was futile. Thankfully, a waiter came and took their orders. It helped him get his mind off of the bastardly handsome Spaniard, rather, idiot bastard sitting so close to him.

Their orders consisted mostly of group meals, four pizzas, and several other finger food. The first menu for their cocktail/liquor was a pitcher of screwdriver. Lovino personally recommended the mix since it had the right amount of sweetness with a distinct taste of liquor.

At this point, Lovino and Ludwig only talked if they were addressed since Feliciano and Antonio were engaged in an animated conversation which neither two could catch-up with. Lovino decided to busy himself again with his phone but someone pinched his cheeks, followed by a sinister kesesese and remark, "Still the chubby cheeks Vino?"

"Fuck off Gilbert!" Lovino tried to say but the words were garbled. Why the fuck was Gilbert Beilschmidt with them? He hated this son of a bitch; the motherfucker annoyed the hell out of him.

"Gilbert!" A stern voice called out. Relief washed over Lovino; thank God Elizaveta, Gilbert's on/off girlfriend, was also here. "Stop that! You're hurting Lovino."

"Yeah, yeah," Gilbert replied.

The newly arrived couple sat at the head of the table. Lovino reiterated what they ordered earlier and asked whether they had something they wanted to add. Gilbert and Liz were satisfied with the food choices. While waiting for their cocktail to arrive, the eight-seater table was lively. Each side of the rectangular table had two chairs; and coincidentally, the couples were seated side-by-side. The exceptions were Lovino Vargas and Antonio Fernandez Carriedo since they were not a couple. It was hard to tell who was talking with who since all of the young adults were talking at the same time. When the pitcher arrived, there was an eruption of glee. After taking a sip, everyone was satisfied with the drink. The food then arrived and the drink was set aside for now.

Along the train of conversations, Lovino found out that Gilbert and Antonio used to go to the same elementary school. The older Vargas couldn't help but react how small the world was. Liz also agreed to the statement. Elizaveta and Gilbert were an on/off couple since freshman year of college, while Ludwig is Gilbert's brother, who started dating Feliciano a year ago. Around the same time, Liz and Lovino knew each other. Among the six of them, the people who only knew each other recently were Lovino and Antonio.

The group left Acacia several minutes past midnight. Their stomachs were full and slightly inebriated from drinking several pitchers of different cocktails. The group only walked together until the parking space. Elizaveta and Gilbert went home together since they lived in the same apartment complex while Lovino offered a ride and his house to others. It would be troublesome for Feliciano, Ludwig, and Antonio to return to the dorms at this hour. Antonio sat in the front while Feliciano and Ludwig sat in the back. The drive to the Vargas house was silent; EDM music blasted through the speakers. Feliciano was leaning on Ludwig's shoulder while the German macho potato leaned on Feliciano's head.

Lovino kept his eyes on the road; he was tipsy and he must stay focused or else, they were going to get into an accident. He knew drunk driving is wrong but they couldn't stay in Acacia until they sober up. Also, he didn't trust anyone with his Maserati. God, he worked hard to earn this baby; he wouldn't let anyone else drive it.

"Hey, your car... you changed your car," Antonio murmured.

"This is mine; the BMW was my Grandpa's. He's out of town and using it," Lovino explained. In the corner of his eye, he saw Antonio nod.

Once they left downtown area and traveled to the south national highway, the roads were quiet. Lovino stepped on the accelerator and in less than ten minutes, they safely arrived. Lovino thanked the Heavens for not getting into any kind of trouble. After opening the door and turning on the lights, Lovino led Ludwig and Feliciano to his room. It had a double deck, in case Feliciano would stay over. Lovino walked out and saw Antonio locking the door and made himself comfortable in the living room. The two locked eyes before Antonio let out a goofy grin.

"Mi casa es su casa,"

"Idiot. I'm supposed to be the one saying that,"

Lovino's heart fluttered when the other man let out a guttural laugh. He then cleared his throat before speaking again, "You'll sleep in Dad's room. I'll take the couch."

"No," Antonio replied firmly. "This is your house Lovino. You should be able to sleep comfortably."

"Okay," Lovino shrugged. "Just knock on the door if you need something."

"But I'm not yet sleepy," The Spaniard whined. "Let's talk."

"About what? We're talking right now,"

"I mean something else; about our selves. Everybody knew each other at the table except for us," Antonio moved to the couch's edge and signaled Lovino to sit beside him. The Italian complied and leaned on the side. Both of them were facing each other, their knees touching and only arm's away from one another.

"What do you want to know? I'm Felice's older brother. Our parents divorced when I was three... I've been living with my father and Grandfather. Grandpa's a retired soldier while Papa's working overseas," Lovino spoke nonchalantly.

"Oh, um, I didn't know," Antonio tried to apologize but Lovino stopped him.

"It's okay, really. The old man and Papa did a great job raising me, considering I am a problem child,"

"That's good to hear... well, my life's kinda boring. My parents are farmers and it's my aunt who's paying for my school expenses,"

"... I agree, that's kinda boring," Lovino chuckled.

"Hm, and, I just broke up with Bella," Antonio added.

Suddenly, Lovino jolt awake. He suddenly sobered up. Oh God, he was in love with a straight man.

"Anyway, thank you for letting us stay here," Antonio grinner and hugged Lovino. "You really are a good person."

"Yeah, yeah. As if I can let you idiots rot in front of the campus's gate," Lovino sarcastically said. "Go to sleep idiot. I'm sleepy already."

Lovino didn't waste any second and walked inside his father's room. He didn't bother turning on the light. He plopped himself to bed. He lied about feeling sleepy; he was damn wide awake. Aside from the fact that Antonio Fernandez Carriedo was straight as an arrow, he knew who Bella was. At some point, Lovino did have a crush on Bella because she was beautiful and kind and cheerful, among many other virtues he admired. However, he moved on from that crush and his affections became platonic. The two of them were once classmates and they got along very well.

"What a cruel world," Lovino murmured before he closed his eyes.

Five hours later, Lovino woke-up. He was still groggy but he forced himself to go out of the bed. When he went to his room to get a change of clothes; as he expected, the lovey-dovey couple were fast asleep. Feliciano was sleeping in the lower deck (Lovino's spot) while Ludwig slept above. Lovino then took a shower, changed and went to the kitchen. He may have an uncouth mouth but he prides himself as a good host. He wasn't going to starve these people in his house. He brewed himself coffee while waiting for the pans to heat up. If he was alone, breakfast was simple - latte and bread but he was not alone which makes breakfast not simple. He wasn't sure what Ludwig and Antonio preferred, so he was cooking eggs, ham, and bacon. These were safe choices.

The house guests were awake by seven; just after Lovino finished setting up the table. When Feliciano, Antonio, and Ludwig entered the kitchen, Lovino tried to stifle his laughter. The idiots and macho bastard didn't wash their faces yet.

Preparing for breakfast was a hassle but Lovino realized that eating a meal with people made the preparation worth the effort.


TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorite.