Sorry about the delay, things have been busy lately. A special thanks to all those who takes the time to give me a review, I really appreciate it! Here's a new chapter for you all! I hope you'll enjoy it! ^^

oOo

More than a month and a half had passed since he first – officially – met Lovino, and they had been on several dates. Even so, Antonio felt that every date was a lot like a first. Lovino would be pretty much as sceptical as ever, though he had gone from constantly-cursing at the Spaniard, to just being vaguely-offending... All right, so there was some progress, but it was slow.

Antonio had almost considered writing the foul mood of the younger man off as some weird sense of humour. Francis had asked him on several occasions, most often after interrogating the Spaniard for details of the dates, how he was able to put up with it. His answer would always be the same.

Because he knew that it was just a mask.

And by God, Lovino knew how to wear a mask to make it believable. He might have believed it to be his real personality, had there not been moments where the mask would slip, ever so slightly. Antonio had never been considered particularly perceptive, but he could still pick up the hints of sadness and pain in these moments, as well as a sense of fear that seemed to border on fright or even panic at times. But beside these sad emotions, he also noticed the tiny smiles. The shy glances in his direction. The hope, slowly and gradually building up in those breathtaking eyes – just to die the next second, like a candle flickering out in a storm.

Because truly, Lovino's mind seemed to reflect his apparent personality; it was as stormy as a hurricane, and as unpredictable as a tornado.

Lovino was often busy - More often than not, to tell the truth. In the beginning, Antonio had thought it to be little more than an excuse, but he was beginning to believe that the other truly worked five times as much, and ten times as hard as the average person.

Lovino never spoke much of his job, and Antonio had no idea what he even worked with. Not that the job was the only thing he didn't talk about; he never spoke much of himself or his life in general, really. Antonio had realized at one point that he knew next to nothing about the Italian, except for his name. To put it shortly; the Italian was a complete and utter mystery to him.

The subject of visiting each other had started coming up from time to time after about two or three weeks. Antonio usually wouldn't even notice the fact that Lovino had expertly avoided the subject, until he went to bed that night and suddenly realized that his questions and suggestions had gone unanswered. Again.

"What am I doing wrong...?" he gave a sigh, where he lay on his back on Francis' bed. His friend had invited him over to ask his opinion on various outfits for tomorrow's date with what he called a "special someone" – Antonio's experience was that Francis found a new "special someone" every week or so. In the end, their meeting had gone from just a simple visit to... this.

They were well into their second bottle of wine, Antonio was feeling low-spirited and pathetic, and Francis' had gone from trying on regular clothes to more daring clothes, until he came to the category of "clothes you would rather die than have your parents find".

"You're doing nothing wrong, mon cher," Francis reassured him, skipping over to the bed and putting a pair of rabbit's ears on the Spaniard's head. Antonio supposed he should have been more alarmed about the stuff the Frenchman kept in his closet. "Sure, your little Italian is more secretive than what is normal, but that does not have to mean anything."

"But he never even told me about his job... I mean, what could he be working with that is so secret?"

"Perhaps he's a... ah, what do they call it in anglais... agent? Secret agent?"

"He's too loud."

"A walking billboard?"

"Too impatient, and he'd kill anyone who dared comment upon it."

"Prostitute?"

"Don't even joke about that!" Antonio lifted his head, giving a slight glare. "Besides, he's working normal work days, it seems... plus a few hours more." The last part was added in a quiet murmur, and he gave yet another sigh. In truth, it was hard to get hold of the other during week days, as he would only be available in the evening, or during late afternoon.

Francis smiled, shifting the outfit – was that a maid's dress? – he was currently wearing, and opening his mouth to comment, when a knock came to his apartment door.

"I'll be right back." With that, he skipped out of the bedroom. Antonio sat up abruptly in alarm.

"Francis, you'll scare the hell out of whoever it is, wearing that!" Scrambling off the bed, he jogged after the other, only to be too late. The Frenchman was already at the door, and had not only opened it, but also posed in a suggesting manner. He might actually look somewhat hot in that dress, had it not been for the rather manly body hair, and the slight beard at his chin, which kind of ruined his impression of a cute, feminine maid.

"How can I help you~?" he cooed, and Antonio felt torn between laughing and running over to reassure whoever came to visit that the Frenchman was quite drunk and didn't know what he was doing.

"I'm not sure I'd want the sort of help you're offering, Franny," came a quipped reply, instead of the horrified scream Antonio had partially expected. Apparently, this wasn't just any stranger.

"Gilbert! When did you come back?" Francis had thrown himself around the stranger's neck by now, and Antonio could tell that his friend was sincerely happy to see whoever it was. Said 'stranger' was proved to be a man their age, as Francis pulled him into the apartment. He could be an albino, with his red eyes and silvery white hair, had it not been for the dark eyelashes and brows, and the fact that he did have some pigmentation in his skin as well, though it was slight. While he wasn't very tall, and quite lithe of build, he had a certain presence that made him appear stronger than his frame suggested that he was.

"A few days ago," Gilbert replied to Francis' question. "I meant to call, but well... had a few things to sort out first." He suddenly took notice of the Spaniard still standing a bit awkwardly in the middle of the living room and grinned easily. "I'd ask if you were the guy Francis is dressing up for, but you look too sane to be his type. You must be Antonio, ja?"

"Eh... Yeah, that's me," Antonio smiled, quite surprised that Francis had mentioned him. Gilbert freed himself from Francis's hold, and came over, holding out his hand.

"Gilbert here." Strangely enough, the off-hand smile he gave suddenly made all awkwardness disappear, as Antonio grinned, greeting him back.

Two hours later, the three of them were huddled together on Francis' – too small – couch, watching some classic romance-movie and talking about anything and nothing, as if they had been friends forever. It was strange, how some relationships would be slow and hesitating, while others seemed to just pop up out of the blue and grow strong in just a matter of moments.

One second, the trio talked about light topics, joking around and teasing each other. The next, they moved onto deeper things, like for example love and its consequences. As it turned out, by some strange coincidence, Gilbert also preferred the male gender in relationships, and for a while, the three were exchanging stories of embarrassing, painful or simply amusing situations this shared fact had caused them throughout the years.

Gilbert easily won when it came to painful ones, revealing that his parents had officially disowned him upon finding out. He claimed that they never really cared for him anyway, and that he was too awesome to care, but it was evident that it caused him more pain than he let on. Antonio himself had never had that particular problem, as he'd grown up in an orphanage, not really knowing whether his family was dead or alive somewhere in the world – Francis and Gilbert both had been horrified to hear this fact, and had tried convincing him that they would be his family from now on. Needles to say, they were both affected by alcohol, and thus overly emotional, but it was still touching to Antonio, and he couldn't help but feel very lucky to have friends like them.

"So, 'Tonio, I hear from Francis you're trying to woo a grumpy Italian," Gilbert smirked, changing the subject onto what he probably hoped would be a lighter one. Antonio sighed, nodding.

"It's not going too well, though..." he murmured with a moan, leaning his head back onto Francis' chest, legs resting on either side of Gilbert, where he was leaning against the arm of the couch, a glass of wine in hand. If anyone were to come in, they'd probably find the mangled mass of limbs on the cramped couch too intimate to be considered proper. None of that mattered, though – at the moment, all three of them were perfectly happy with the intimacy and couldn't have felt less awkward about it.

"How long have you been dating?"

"About... a month and a half, I think. But he still won't tell me a thing about himself! I understand that he's secretive, but... what if he really doesn't want to date me at all, and just wants me to go away?"

This was something he had thought about a lot lately. Logically, Lovino had been the one to accept his date-offer in the first place, but he couldn't help but feel that he'd forced the other into the relationship somehow, by pestering him too much. At times, he wondered if he should just ask Lovino directly if he wanted to continue dating or not, but in the end, he was too scared. Which in turn made him feel pathetic, for getting so attached to the Italian, despite not knowing a thing about him. Despite being clueless of whether his feelings were one-sided or not.

Gilbert hummed quietly, taking a sip of is wine. Despite it being his fourth glass, he showed few signs of being even slightly intoxicated, apart from his overly-emotional behaviour earlier. Upon question, he blamed it on his 'awesome', German blood.

"What kind of dates have you been to?" he asked eventually.

"Well... the first date was to a puppet theatre – don't ask," he added upon seeing the red-eyed male's incredulous expression, "and then I took him to the movies once, and to dinner a few times... a walk in the park..."

"Basic, boring stuff, in other words?" Gilbert cut him off, and Antonio blinked, thinking about it. Now that he thought about it, it was kind of boring...

"Oh no, could it be that he's so bored with me that he's sick of dating?" he exclaimed in horror, but Francis chuckled behind him, playing with his hair.

"Don't take it personally, mon cher, but perhaps a change of tactic is in order? It does not sound like your man is the type for the traditional, simple stuff."

"Yeah, like... Matthew and me went to play hockey, for example! Mein Gott, I was sore for days afterwards, but it was still the best date ever!" Gilbert said, his eyes getting a fond expression upon mention of his boyfriend.

"So... you're saying I should do something more exciting?"

"We're saying that doing something you actually enjoy, Toni. It might make it more fun for the both of you," Francis chuckled.

"But I like walks in the park..." Antonio grumbled, though a grin still adorned his features. He got the gist of what his friends were trying to suggest, and he was already starting to think about possible things to do. If he could fit into Lovino's busy schedule, of course.

"Hey, what's his name, anyway? He's not secretive enough not to give out his name, right?"

"No, that's just about the only thing I know about him. His name's Lovino."

"Lovino? As in, Lovino Vargas?" Gilbert looked surprised, eyes widening slightly.

"Yeah, you know him?" Antonio was a bit taken aback at this, as it was an unexpected turn of events.

"Well, not personally... but Ludwig, my little brother, hangs out a lot with Lovino's younger brother. Apparently, he hates Ludwig's guts, though I'm guessing that might just be an overprotective-brother-thing."

Antonio didn't really know what to say, surprised at the coincidence and a bit taken aback by this new revelation. As it turned out, Lovino had a younger brother. And to think that he hadn't given even the slightest hints of having a family at all...

"His brother's name's Feliciano," Gilbert continued, "he and Ludwig's been dating for a while now."

"He's finally admitted to his love?" Francis shot in, incredulously. "What did your parents say?"

"They don't know." Gilbert gave a somewhat solemn grimace. "Neither of us has got much to do with them anymore anyway, but I know he feels kind of bad about it."

The two began talking about this, but Antonio had tuned them out, thinking about this new information. In the end, one question kept replaying in his mind, over and over;

Why did Lovino feel the need to hide his personal life from Antonio...?

Shortly after this question popped up, a smile began playing on his lips, as he eventually came to a firm decision. No matter how long it would take, he would make Lovino trust him enough to open up more. There just wasn't any other option.

oOo

"Can I take this fucking blindfold off soon?" Lovino was not happy. Antonio could tell as much, and it made him fasten their pace a bit more, so that they would reach the destination before Lovino tore the piece of clothe to bits and pieces. Careful, not to let his companion slip or fall, he guided him eagerly down the path until they had finally reached the destination.

Coming to a stop, he made a dramatic pause for effect, before smiling. "Ok, you can take it off now!" The Italian didn't have to be told twice, ripping the cloth of and blinking against the bright sunlight that met his eyes. It took some time for him to get used to the sudden brightness, and Antonio nervously awaited his reaction. When he finally was able to see, his eyes widened just a fraction, lips parting in mute surprise.

"We're... going to surf?" Lovino asked eventually, glancing from Antonio to the sea, and to the equipment that lay waiting for them, along with a picnic basket. While his voice was neutral, cautious, there were no complaints, which gave Antonio slight hope.

"Sí!"

He waited anxiously for further reaction, and grew a little nervous as the other walked over to the equipment. Eventually, the younger man turned to him, and although uncertainty was written clearly on his features, there were no signs of aggression of any kind. With a small sigh, the Italian gave a nod.

"You... you'll have to show me how," he murmured, and Antonio found his shoulders relaxing at this.

He couldn't help the eager grin that broke out on his face. "Of course!"

After two hours of playing in the water, lots of profanities, and – thankfully – quite a lot of laughter, Lovino was actually becoming quite good. He seemed to like surfing – even if he ended up spending the afternoon mostly in the water – and Antonio was thrilled. Surfing was something he truly enjoyed, and the fact that Lovino also enjoyed it, made him surprisingly happy.

He'd spent quite some time thinking about dates that would be more interesting, worrying that his date would dislike whatever activity he chose. Thankfully, it seemed that his choice of activity had been a good one.

"If you shift your balance a bit to your left foot, you'll get a better-" the rest of his words faded into a sympathetic chuckle, as Lovino's balance went out of hand, and he went toppling of his board yet again, coming up spluttering and spitting water.

Of course, the fact that he got to see Lovino wet was a bit of a bonus, though he couldn't admit it out loud, afraid it would sound perverted. Well... it probably was perverted. But what could he say? With those adorable locks of hair, curling upon contact with the water, and that well-shaped – though a bit too thin – body, complimented by the tight wet-suit, he was quite a sight.

"What are you smiling at, bastard?" Lovino asked, as he hauled himself out of the water and onto the board, opting to sit on it instead of standing. While his words could be interpreted as harsh, his tone was calm, and actually sounded somewhat pleasant.

"Sorry," Antonio smiled. "You just looked so cute, I couldn't help myself." And, just as he'd predicted, a blush immediately spread across the Italian's cheeks, and he turned away with a huff, muttering about something or the other that Antonio probably wasn't supposed to hear.

"I'm getting a bit hungry. What do you say we go open that picnic basket, hm?" Antonio nodded towards the beach. The next minute, he had to repress a chuckle as Lovino's stomach gave a rather loud rumble. Lovino cleared his throat with a tiny smile of his own, and shrugged.

"Whatever."

The two headed back to the beach again, and Antonio fetched towels for them both. It was a delightfully warm day, one of those pleasant days that reminded more of summer than autumn. Even so, they had opted for wet suits due to the chilly temperature of the water.

Despite the nice weather, they had this part of the beach mostly to themselves. Neither of them complained about this, however, enjoying the lack of noise and stress.

It was nice to sit there in the afternoon sun, having changed back into dry clothes, and eating the dishes Antonio had made in a peaceful sort of silence. Lovino had even said that the food tasted good – although his wording was "Heh, it doesn't taste as awful as I feared", his tone signalled that it was as close to a compliment he would get for now.

So far, this was definitely the best of the dates they had been to so far, and he didn't have to be a genius to see that Lovino felt so too. The Italian was looking quite at ease, gazing out across the sea, while munching on the churros Antonio had packed. Seeing him like this was rare, as he usually had all his guards and defences up when they were together. It gave the Spaniard hope that, with some time, he'd get to see this side of Lovino more often.

Despite the atmosphere, questions still burned at the back of his tongue, though, and he was growing quite frustrated with his own impatience. All to its own time, he tried telling himself, but it didn't really help much.

"Somehow... the sea calms me down."

Antonio blinked out of his thoughts, barely catching the soft words. For a moment he thought he'd imagined it, but a glance at the red-tinted cheeks of the other confirmed that he truly had said it.

"Yeah, me too. The sound of the waves and the smell... it's beautiful, isn't it?" He spoke gently, smiling as he leant back on the heels of his hands, enjoying the way the wind played with his hair.

"Mhm," came the confirmative sound, and Antonio saw that Lovino had closed his eyes where he sat, knees pulled up to his chest. The Spaniard's breath caught in his throat for a moment, and his heart sped up as he let his eyes rest on the both vulnerable, and peaceful figure of the man he was truly falling more and more in love with.

The concept of love was somewhat foreign to him, as he didn't have much experience with lovers. Truthfully, he knew next to nothing about how it was supposed to feel to be in love... but he did trust his heart and his instincts. And they were telling him that this was the man he wanted to be with. The Italian sitting beside him was the one he wished to protect against harm, hold safely in his arms, spend days and nights with, kiss...

Sadly, he had a feeling that if he expressed these secret thoughts to the Italian too soon, he'd only succeed in scaring him away. He was like a wild kitten, fearful and sceptical. Just one wrong, sudden movement could easily make him either fight or run.

A slightly wistful smile touched Antonio's lips, as he moved his eyes out onto the sea instead of the mesmerizing enigma that had waltzed into his life, and turned everything he knew inside-out.

This was enough, for now. Just sitting here, listening to the waves hitting the sand, the seagulls crying as they soared across the skies, and-"

"Fratello?" A surprised voice broke the silence, meaning that they were no longer alone. In the matter of a split second, Lovino's posture had gone from relaxed to tense, and his eyes widened as he spun around. Antonio blinked in wonder at his boyfriend's sudden mood change, and turned to face the person who interrupted their moment.

"F-Feliciano!"

Somehow, Antonio had a feeling this was not the time or way Lovino would have wished for him to meet his brother, and upon seeing the expressions in Lovino's eyes, he got a disheartening feeling that yet another successful date would meet a sad end.

oOo

Thanks for reading. If you could give me some feedback telling me what you like (or dislike) about my story, it would really warm my heart! I'm happy about faves and alerts too, sure, but they don't really give me anything to work with…

Mon cher – My dear (French)

Anglais – English (French)

Ja – Yes (German)

Mein Gott – My God (German)

Sí – Yes (Spanish)