Ring~

Romano turned over in their bed, irritated out of his mind. Who the fuck would be calling him so early? He reached out blindly and fumbled for his cell on the bedside table. Next to him, Antonio mumbled. When the phone was in his grasp he wasn't surprised when his squinted eyes revealed the name "Feli" spelled in black block letters on the blue screen. With a sigh he answered.

"Fratello, I swear to God if you are not on literal fire, or have a massive ticking time bomb strapped to your chest I can't think of anything else that's so God damned important it can't wait until it's not four in the morning." Romano growled lowly.

On the other end Ludwig's voice could be heard groaning in annoyance, and Feliciano's voice drowning his out with a whine.

"No! It is important I swear! I need you and Antonio to come over before Lunch! I really, really need to tell you something big!" The younger twin said, ecstatic.

Another sigh escaped his lips before he answered his brother.

"Fine. Just stop fucking calling me so early. We'll be there at ten." He responded tiredly.

Romano could hear an excited "Did you hear that Ludwig! They're coming over at ten! I can-" coming from his brother, then a "Sorry. Goodbye." from Ludwig.

He just stared at his phone, and then placed it back on the nightstand. He was too tired to even complain about the stupid German. Settling back down, Romano pulled the blanket over his shoulder. Antonio draped an arm lazily over him.

"What was that all about?" He asked sleepily.

Romano made in indignant sound, not opening his eyes. "Who the hell knows? It's Feliciano we're talking about here."

There was no reply, and it didn't really bother the Italian. He simply relaxed and went back to sleep.

After an uninterrupted five hours of sleep, both Antonio and Romano were up, and enjoying breakfast. Antonio sat at the table quietly eating scrambled eggs. Romano got himself a cup of coffee before sitting down at the table and in front of his laptop. Antonio looked up at him. Romano typed quickly as his eyes darted left and right. As much as he wished his little Italian would pay that much attention to him, he felt just as content watching.

The ever present frown, however cute, was gone, and replaced by the occasional smirk when he read something amusing. Romano didn't know it, but Antonio loved that smirk. It was so unlike any other expression he had. And while it wasn't a smile per-say it definitely came close enough.

Romano noticed the idiot's staring. But he was in an unusually good mood this morning. So it was dismissed, and he continued to drink and scroll. Antonio, however stood up. He carefully set his plate in the sink. Looking over his shoulder, he smiled. He made his way over to Romano and wrapped his arms around his neck. Romano jumped slightly, but relaxed fairly quickly.

"What do you think Feli wants to tell us? He made it sound pretty important." Antonio asked lazily.

"Better be. He called at four in the fucking morning." Romano scoffed.

"Well, are we going to walk there or take a cab? Cause if we're going to walk we should get going." Antonio commented, letting go of the other and stretching.

Romano sighed. There was no way he was gonna pay a cab driver for a walk he took weekly.

"We're gonna walk. If I can do it so can you." The Italian taunted.

Antonio whined, but made his way towards the door slowly. Romano got up and put his mug in the sink. Both of them grabbed their coats, and Romano locked the door behind them.

The walk was going to be a fairly long one. No more than half an hour at the most. But the two of them were used to walking, and with the other to keep them company it wouldn't seem so long. The sun was half hidden behind grey clouds. And the wind was cold. But nonetheless it was a good morning. Antonio was partial to sunny skies, but Romano felt more at ease on days like this. It was strange how a simple change in temperature could calm him like nothing else. Antonio felt delighted in the least that for once Romano wasn't even complaining about anything. Which he was very good at.

At first there was silence. And in that short ten minute span of time Romano had thought about a lot of things. His past (as much as he tried to forget it...); the start of everything with Antonio. How easy it would have been to just say "No". The little monosyllable word was one he'd used so often it was a miracle it didn't just fly from his lips every time someone asked him something.

But he didn't. Maybe it was just the old him trying so desperately to finally grasp what he couldn't so long ago. But again, the Italian had to shake his head at the thought. The him from that time so long ago was just a distant memory. He'd decided he wasn't that person anymore. But yet, it seemed the person he' become was no better. Even as he looked over towards the idiotic Spaniard he hated to love so much it hurt, he realized he'd known all along how this would end.

End...

It gave him quite a shock to feel that word sink in. It was an inevitable truth. His eyes widened with the realization. There really was no escaping it. Futile attempts to deny fate would never bear any fruit. This could never bear fruit. The thought of it really and truly ending... This weird and impossible thing between the two could never actually survive the test of time. Romano knew he had a hard hand in love, but never before had it been so clear! It wasn't until he'd found something worthwhile that he'd found himself unwilling to fold. Waves of sadness roiled over him heavily. And on instinct he found himself reaching out. The only thing he was met with was Antonio's hand. And as much as it was painful, it was also the greatest comfort he could have found.

Antonio turned towards the pull on his hand, seeing only a blushing Romano. And it had filled him with the greatest joy.

"Wow Roma! I can't believe it! You held my hand all on your own!" He joked happily.

Romano glared. "Shut up stupid."

But Antonio didn't feel any bite in the statement.

Words weren't exchanged when the couple arrived. Feliciano was definitely excited about something. But Romano had the feeling his silence was premeditated, and definitely practiced. There was no doubt Ludwig had made him practice the art of shutting the hell up for just this occasion. They were led into the living room and seated themselves on the couch. Ludwig sat quite uncomfortably across from Romano. His eyes shifted from here and there, but never towards Romano. Feliciano just stood next to him, bouncing around; not saying a word. The blonde cleared his throat.

"Feliciano, you can tell them now." He said stiffly.

"Really? Are you sure? One hundred percent?" The brunette implored excitedly.

"Yes, Feliciano, you can tell them now." Ludwig sighed, but with a smile.

Feliciano's face lit up. He turned to the two and smiled brightly.

"We're going to adopt!" He exclaimed.

Romano didn't know what to say. It was amazing, yes, even if the German bastard would be the father of his niece and/or nephew. There were times he was sure his brother would burn down the house if he didn't check in regularly. But even those moments were punctuated with the understanding Feliciano could have been; if born a woman; one of the greatest mothers in the world.

"That's amazing Feli!" Antonio chirped.

He promptly got up and hugged Feliciano. And at first, the action wasn't so unusual. But Romano still felt a slight discomfort.

"We wanted you to come shopping with us! Even Grandpa will be there! It'll be fun."

With that Romano froze.

Well...

Fuck.

He had tried really hard to avoid the man as much as possible. Honestly he had. Ever since Romano had graduated he'd barely talked to his Grandfather. It was only during family reunions every other year that he tolerated him. And even then a week in Italy with Rome was less than ideal. So the sight of him standing in front of the local Target made him regret his choice to come along.

"Ah, there you are! Come here Feliciano I don't get to see you often enough." The older man insisted, bringing Feliciano into a tight hug.

The younger laughed and returned the embrace. And when Rome let him go, he turned his attention on Romano.

"Romano." He beamed and held his arm out.

A sick feeling came over him. He didn't want to do this. Not now, not ever. He just wanted to die right there. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd hugged his Grandfather.

"I'd rather not." Romano seethed hotly.

Antonio looked between them.

"What's wrong? It's just your Grandpa..." He asked; confused.

Romano just crossed his arms and looked away.

Rome sighed in defeat. "It's fine Antonio. He's always been that way."

Thank God Feli decided then was the perfect time to start. It wasn't the best of distractions. But his talk with Rome was limited to 'Hmm..'s and "Yeah."s. But Rome wasn't the only reason he was uncomfortable. It was stupid to think, but Romano couldn't help but feel unsettled by the closeness between Antonio and Feliciano. Maybe it was unreasonable. Ok, it definitely was. But emotions had come and gone so quickly today. Even in the first three hours of his day he had gone from relatively happy, to sad, to uncomfortable, to angry, and now to fairly pissed. It was a terrible thing to deal with, but Romano had gotten into a mood. And that bode nothing but a worsening situation.

Antonio skipped alongside Feliciano as they looked at different kinds of baby clothes. And it seemed to be a regular thing for Antonio to lean over and squeeze Feliciano as if his life depended on it. Every time it happened an unexplained rage build up in him. And it was no help that his head was starting to throb. Ludwig stole a glance at his brother-in-law.

"Not enjoying this?" The blonde questioned awkwardly.

Romano glared daggers at the German.

"Where'd you get that fucking idea?" He snarled sarcastically.

"Neither am I. The only reason I ever come shopping with Feliciano is to make sure he doesn't buy unnecessary things." The taller admitted.

The older Italian still simmered in anger. But at least the giant blockhead was actually useful. He wouldn't be the only one suffering. And knowing Ludwig was the other person suffering made him feel a bit better about the situation.

Still, he hoped and prayed this would be over sooner.

Unfortunately, his prayers were far from answered.

Feliciano had insisted everyone stay for an early dinner. Which left him alone with a hug-trigger-happy boyfriend and his annoying Grandfather. Today just wasn't going to get any better. And with Antonio constantly alternating between hugging Feliciano, and attempting to hug Romano, the unhappy Italian wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep for at least two hours. At the request of Rome, everyone gathered in the kitchen while Feliciano finished cooking.

"Want anything to drink Romano?" Antonio questioned; sitting in the seat next to him.

"I don't care as long as it's hooch." He grumbled in reply; head in his hands.

Antonio got up then leaned down to kiss Romano on the cheek, which was quickly avoided when Romano turned his head away.

Rome looked on with a blank stare. He just couldn't understand what had made Romano the way he was.

"Don't you think you should wait until dinner is ready, Romano?" Rome inclined loftily.

Antonio returned with a wine bottle and a glass. Romano took them both, setting the glass on the table and pulling the cork from the dark bottle. He poured a generous amount. After setting the bottle down he drank most of the glass in one fell swoop; giving Rome the smug look a teenager might give when defying authority, daring it to do something about it. Rome simply sighed again.

The next few minutes were punctuated by very little chatting between anyone other than Rome and Antonio, and a whole lot of drinking by Romano. Antonio had questioned about whether he'd had enough or not several times. But Romano had dismissed it every time. The food was being served, and everyone was glad to have something as a distraction from the awkwardness.

"So Feliciano, will my Great Grandchild be a boy or a girl?" Rome asked happily.

"A boy! Ludwig and I were able to agree on that pretty easily." He replied.

"Ah, good! Now if only Romano would get himself hitched. I could look forward to more. But until then I guess it's up to you." Rome commented lightly.

Romano felt burning annoyance rise in him.

"But really Romano, when are you an Antonio planning to tie the knot?" The eldest Italian prodded.

Antonio laughed awkwardly.

"Well, w-" He started, but was interrupted.

"Who knows, but it's sure as hell none of your damn business." Romano quipped dryly.

Feliciano looked between the two frantically. This wasn't going to end well. Both his Grandfather and Romano were hard headed and never wanted to back down.

"That's no way to speak to your Grandfather!" Rome scolded.

"I'll talk to you however the hell I want to!" Romano rebutted.

Rome glared at his grandson. This had gone too far and it wasn't at all right for Romano to be acting this way.

"You will not talk to me that way! I raised you to show respect-" Rome grit his teeth when Romano laughed.

"You? Raised me? I thought you were senile enough, but it looks like you're crazier than I thought!"

Feliciano rose from his seat when Romano did, pushing his brother back by the shoulder. This wasn't going to end well.

"Fratello, calm down!" The younger begged.

Antonio tried to grab Romano's arm, calming words lilting in his lover's rage.

Rome seethed and rose from his own chair, circling the table to grab his grandson by the chin.

"Look here you ungrateful little shit! I did everything I had to so you could live comfortably. You will show me respect."

Romano grinned in mirth. "More like you did everyone you had to."

With that Romano jerked from Rome's grip, and stalked out of the kitchen. "I'm done with this shit!"

Antonio followed after him, completely intent on figuring out what the hell just happened.

Antonio had found himself in one of the guestrooms watching an enraged Italian pacing before him. He was at a loss of what to do. Never before had he seen a fight like that erupt, and certainly not between anyone in Roma's family. He was confused and kind of scared.

"Roma are you ok?" The Spaniard asked carefully.

"How the fuck does it look?"

Antonio slowly approached the smaller man, holding out his hand. "Hey, don't worry."

Romano smacked the hand away.

"I really don't want anything to do with you either right now." He growled.

"What? What could I have done?" Antonio asked incredulously.

Romano could have said, but he'd rather not stray into that territory.

"It doesn't matter what you did. You just did!"

The taller man sighed. Arthur was partially right. But Antonio understood the only way to fix any of this would be to talk this out. Even if Romano wasn't willing to talk.

"Romano, tell me what's going on in your head. I'm here to help you! I only want you to tell me what you're thinking, what you feel."

He couldn't rationally deny the request. Romano, though, was far from a rational being.

"I don't need your coddling." He said gruffly.

"Romano it's not coddling! I'm here because I should be! If you'd let me in I could help you! I love you, so why won't you let me do what I need to?" Antonio begged desperately.

Romano froze. He tried to believe he didn't hear those words. That he'd just imagined them. But those words had ripped his world apart too many times. And he realized that his gut feeling was indeed correct. The relationship had reached it's limit. Because first thing "love" is thrown into the equation, that's when a heart gets broken. It hurt more than he imagined. To see Antonio's eyes filled with caring that hurt the more it tried to heal.

"Get out." Romano whispered.

Antonio stood in silence unsure of how to react.

"What?" was his reply.

The Italian spun on his heals and came toe to toe with his boyfriend. Resolution shone in his eyes, hiding the pain this decision caused.

"Out! I want you gone! I can't take this anymore! I want you to leave me alone! It's over!"

There was silence. Emotion raced across Antonio's face, one after another. Surprise, sadness, anger, guilt. It didn't last long though. His face lost any trace of feeling as he stepped back. This really was it wasn't it? There was nothing more he could do. The end had come much sooner that anticipated for both of them. And even though it was hidden, each inch that separated the two made the parting all the more bitter.

"Fine." Antonio said flatly.

He turned around and made his way through the doorway. Feliciano stood outside in the hall. But Antonio excused himself as he passed by, not answering the smaller's questions. Romano heard the door open, then slam shut seconds later. A dark, cold veil slipped itself over him. The world seemed much more harsh than it used to. But for some reason it was even harsher still than before Antonio had come around. Feliciano entered the room, tailed by Ludwig. Romano couldn't bring himself to look at them.

"Fratello, what happened?" He asked quietly.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Feliciano surprised everyone by actually yelling. "Everything was fine! He loved you so much! Why don't you see that?"

Romano tried to keep the tears at bay.

"Don't say that! I don't care how much he "loved" me! It was doomed from the start! Nothing good would come of it!"

"Don't give me that bull shit! Do you know why it was "doomed"? Because you don't let anyone in! The closer they get to you, the more you push back! How do you expect anyone to love you, if you refuse to love anyone else? I understand what you're going through! I really do but you're making it hard for me to help you fix it! That's all any of us wanted! I understand your feeling abandoned but you're only as alone as you make yourself! All of this is your fault!" The younger cried, tears of frustration rolling off his cheeks.

Feliciano turned tail and left the room. Ludwig looked at him for a moment.

"You can stay here for the night. But you might want to leave before noon. I'll deal with Feliciano." He stated, then promptly left.

The words sunk in, but none of this seemed real. Romano just closed his eyes and waited for this to be over. For this to just be a dream he was going to wake up from. He'd wake up in his bed, alone as usual, never having said yes, never having to deal with any of this ever. He just wanted everything to be over. Romano slowly made his way to the bed. With no conviction for anything left, he curled into a pillow and tried to forget everything.

Author's Note:

Ok! After procrastinating for forever, I finally got this one done! You would not believe how long this chapter took to finish. I was up from 3am to 7am writing all of this. It evolved a bit differently than I had planned, but I still believe it turned out well! Though I do think I rushed through some things. But it was really early and the writing bug bit me, so I had to finish this before I got lazy again. On to chapter 8!

Reviews are love~!

Edit After I've already Edited:

Oh my god you guys. Like holy crap. I've gotten so many nice reviews for this, and I can't believe you like this so much! I got one review from HikaruFullmoon and just omg your review is great and just thank you so much, it's going in my "Keep" folder! I'm going to work hard on chapter 8 tonight!

Oh, and I just realized all of you thought everything was going to be alright and everyone would be all happy.

...

Yeah I'm so sorry about that. There's 12 Chapters, what can I say?

(Oh, and P.S. Reviews for Fix are all going into the Keep folder just so you know!)