Disclaimer: The Vocaloids featured in this fan-fiction do not belong to me. They belong to their rightful owner which includes Zero-G. The song which this story was heavily based on, known as I (Love), belongs to Circus-P.

I remember seeing this cover of I（愛）/I (Love) with Leon on YouTube and the person who uploaded said cover suggested Leon was perhaps singing about Tonio, so...I have that cover and person to thank for this. I wanted to have this story up on by Valentines Day for the heck of it. Hopefully it's okay.

As usual, read with caution due to cheesy stuff.

I（愛）

This has been bothering him for quite some time. The way that man and Tonio interacted isn't the same as it was months ago. Something was very off. Although he would deny it, Tonio always managed to hide his actual feelings of what was going on and stayed acting like there was nothing wrong. Wrong, how?

At first, when this man and Tonio dated, Tonio didn't seem to be as moody or in a fit of self-loathing like he usually was. He was happy. Months passed on with the two of them still together, however Leon spotted that Tonio had fallen back into a worryingly depressive stage, even around his date.

Well, yes, Leon would catch a glimpse of Tonio and his significant other talking as though there was nothing amiss in their relationship and even saying "I love you" to each other as well, but...it didn't last as long as it used to be. Tonio would not talk a lot to him, or it would be the other way around. Perhaps they were drifting apart.

Was this romance dying out just like Leon sensed was going on?

Maybe things were all right with the two men and Leon was being hopeful that he and Tonio could be together, the way which it should be. Maybe Leon wasn't fully understanding what was going on between them. Who knows...?

Leon sighed through his nose as he stuffed his trimmers into the tool kit which was beside him on an outdoor table. Usually, Tonio would have been out here with him, taking care of his beloved roses. Another glance to the glass door that led inside the house and still no sign of the opera singer. He sighed yet again.

Minutes passed on as Leon went ahead and tried tending to Tonio's roses for the time being, for he was through with own flowers and felt as though Tonio was never going to come out here. Thinking about him made Leon sigh through his nose.

The glass door slid open suddenly, capturing Leon's attention. He turned his head to the door and saw Tonio stepping out while he adjusted his gardening gloves, his brown eyes focused on the special gloves instead of anywhere else.

"There you are!" Leon said with a cheerful tone in his voice, smiling. "Good morning, Tonio! I'm surprised you weren't out here before I was, that's how it usually goes..."

"I know," he mumbled, his eyes still looking down. "Sorry, I needed to sleep...I've been having a lack thereof these past few days."

"Really? You usually have a strict sleeping pattern, don't you?"
"Not recently."

Tonio didn't sound right, and his eyes looked red and tired which was something Leon took notice of when he finally lifted his head up. Tonio was honestly surprised to see the blonde was working on his rose bushes and had completed taking care of his tulips for the day.

"You're taking care of my roses today?" Tonio quirked a brow at the sight in front of him. "Was I honestly asleep for that long?"

Leon nodded without his smile leaving his face. "Yeah, you were." He turned his attention back to the roses and said, "I don't mind doing this at all, though! I could tell that you haven't been feeling well, so I decided to go ahead and do this for you."

"I see...thank you, Leon."
"You're welcome!"

He heard Tonio walking over to the table, pull out a chair, and sit down with no other word. Silence was around them for a minute until Leon thought now would be a good idea to ask the brown-eyed Vocaloid something that was on his mind.

"Tonio?"

"Hm?" Tonio made a small sound as he rested his chin in the palm of his right hand, his eyes drifting over to Leon when he heard his name.

Leon carefully cupped a rose in his hand, asking casually, "Are you happy with him?"

Tonio felt a small tug at his heart at the question. God, did he really have to ask him how his relationship was? The opera singer didn't want to think about him, he didn't want to speak about how he felt distant from his partner, he didn't want to mention how he felt constricted around him, none of that. Their chats were so brief in comparison to when they had first began dating, he didn't feel oddly happy being around him, and then there was the fact that he would feel tired once they departed their own ways for the day. Was their relationship even real anymore?

"I..." he started out saying, but he hesitated and glanced ahead at the pool, then continued, "somewhat, yes."

Leon quickly looked over at his shoulder to see what was Tonio's expression. He frowned at how the other Vocaloid's eyes dimmed dully and a small smirk tried to show itself as a replacement for a smile. "You don't seem happy," he pointed out.

He frowned as well, but he questioned as though nothing was wrong, "What do you mean?"

"You used to look fine whenever you were around him," Leon explained, "but nowadays you hardly want to even acknowledge him."

"And where did you get an assumption like that?"
"Sonika."

"Sonika?" Tonio repeated the name of the perky English girl.

"Sonika said that the two of you were talking, and you were less than enthusiastic about talking about your date from yesterday."
"...oh?"

Leon nodded. He watched Tonio open his mouth, perhaps trying to deny that conversation ever happening, but then close it and sit back against his seat whilst placing a hand over his head. "Tonio," he spoke up, then he made his way to the table and took a seat beside him as he softened his tone of voice, "you're not enjoying your time with him, are you?"

"I'm enjoying it."
"I'm really starting to doubt that you are."
"I said that I am."

"Tonio, come on..." he said worriedly, "you look miserable. You're not even trying to hide the fact that you won't talk about him anymore, not even on your dates or outings you have with him."

"That's because I'd rather not discuss them anymore," he replied in an instant, almost snapping at Leon as he did so.

"Have you seen yourself in a mirror, though? You look...sick."
"I don't care if I do!"
"But why...?"

"Because..." Tonio paused, then he pushed himself out of his seat, replying in a louder, stronger voice, "I probably deserve this."

"No one deserves to feel miserable in a relationship," Leon interjected, frowning, "you, especially, don't deserve it. You've done nothing wrong, the only thing you're 'guilty' of is hating yourself so much."

"That isn't true."
"Yes it is! I swear that whatever is going on isn't your fault! I know you're not the kind to hurt anyone's feelings!"

"Leon, for the love of...!" the opera Vocaloid stopped himself from continuing his reply from coming out all the way, and instead glanced down as he barely covered his mouth with his hand. He should probably stop, it was hard for Leon to understand anyway. "I...need to go," he hurriedly said.

Leon watched him retreat back inside without even bothering to look back at him or even say something else. Poor Tonio, he hasn't been this dismayed for a while. He seemed pretty miserable or unsure about whether or not he was happy being in a relationship with someone. He wish he could have told him to break the relationship off if both sides were feeling that way. He wish he didn't have to see Tonio upset like this yet again.

He wished that he and Tonio could be together again.

As selfish as it sounded, Leon missed being around the opera singer, playing with his hair or sneaking a kiss when he wasn't looking. Heck, the one time they tried having a sexual intercourse felt wonderful. Yes, their relationship might have been seen as a mere "experiment" than a full-blown relationship, but perhaps there was a chance that they could get together.

Would that have happened if Tonio didn't meet this other man two months ago at a pub? Would he get to see a much relaxed version of Tonio like before instead of him falling back into his self-loathing ways? Would he be able to sleep with him fully clothed as they secretly held onto the other?

Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps their time together didn't mean much to Tonio. Perhaps this was simply one-sided which Leon refused to let go because he had hope that they could become official. For all he knew, things could patch up between Tonio and his partner. Relationships have bumpy roads, right?

...God, he was a hopeless fool for believing he and Tonio could get back together.

A slam of the door past midnight was what woke Leon up from his sleep. The rude awakening made him unable to simply shrug off and doze back to dreamland, unfortunately, so Leon slid out of bed and trekked into the hallway and to the flight of stairs. The sound of clinking glass could be heard coming from the kitchen whilst Leon slowly crept down the stairs, his bare feet making contact with the cool wood until he made it to the living room floor. As he cautiously walked to the kitchen entrance, a thought popped up in Leon's mind.

Tonio had a date with that man.

...oh no, what happened?

Wait, the backdoor just slid open and closed, although it wasn't slammed like the front door was.

When he came into the kitchen, he saw everything in its place without a mess in sight, but then he caught the sight of Tonio sitting outside at one of the many tables with a drink in his hand and a few bottles of wine sitting in the middle of the table. Odd to see him with wine, to be honest, but that wasn't the point now. The point now was wondering what had happened and was the opera singer going to be okay.

He merely sat with a hand resting under his left cheek, his head tilted to the side, while he calmly took a sip of his martini. This was the sight Leon saw once he came outdoors in the cool, late night hour without making a sound. He was able to step over to the left side of the table and observe him, and he was surprised that Tonio didn't take notice to him.

Blimey, his eyes looked worse. Were they red? Leon honestly couldn't tell out here when there were hardly any lights besides the porch light and the starry sky above their head.

"..." Leon took a small take of breath and sat down in the seat beside him. "Hey..." he said softly, capturing Tonio's attention with a simple gaze of his eyes whilst he stayed still elsewhere. "are you okay?"

This was beginning to bother him immensely. This attitude of Tonio's is what he's seen a few times, and it still hurt him each time bearing witness to it.

Tonio stared at him for another second or two before he glanced ahead, murmuring, "No."

"...you had a date, right?"
"Yes."

"And...? How did it go?" he asked the daring question. Considering how Tonio's body stiffened, it wasn't a good night for him.

"I..." he replied, though barely above a whisper, "...we...broke it off."

Watching Tonio lean back against his seat and down the rest of his drink from saying that, Leon squeaked out, "What?"

Parts of him would be happy to hear that Tonio wasn't with that man anymore, both for selfish and personal reasons, but the other part felt horrible for seeing him upset like this. Good Lord, his eyes looked teary! Was he going to cry?

Ah, but no, Tonio cleared his throat and rubbed at his eye. "I'm guessing that allergies are bad tonight. My eyes are beginning to bother me." He had a feeling that Leon wasn't buying the words which were being spoken to him, for when he glanced back to the blonde, he could tell that he was saddened.

The parts of him that selfishly wanted Tonio to himself were diminishing as he softly said, "I'm sorry," to Tonio. "I'm really, really sorry that this happened, Tonio."

"It's alright. It was all turning into a lie, anyway."
"A lie...?"

"Our time together," he explained. "I wasn't enjoying his company anymore, and he didn't enjoy the time with me either. I don't know why he led me on for so much...or why I led myself to believe we were perfect. Things like that."

Leon's gaze softened, and then he wrapped an arm around Tonio's shoulder and pulled him close. "I'm still sorry for what happened, though."

Normally, Tonio would have very much objected to the touch, but he honestly felt as though he needed it, so he let his head rest on Leon's shoulder, his brown eyes looking up at the sky. "...it was nice while it lasted, I guess," he admitted, "to have someone actually fall in love with me, even if it were end up becoming a joke at the end. I'm certain it won't ever happen again, right?"

Leon inhaled, a rather shaky one. "Well..." he said, his voice going gentle, "I love you, Tonio."

"..." His eyes shot over at him, shocked from hearing that. Tonio's eyes became half-lidded as he went back to looking at the stars, his chest feeling a small flutter...or was that an ache...? Either way, it was caused by Leon, someone who had admitted to loving him, even after that had happened.

end