A new chapter, one day early (since I'll probably be busy tomorrow)~ Enjoy!

oOo

"Thank you for buying! Have a nice day!" cheerfully waving after a customer as she left the store, Antonio gave a small, happy smile. It didn't bother him at all that it was raining heavily outside, nor did it bother him that most of the day consisted of dusting shelves and waiting for the few, rare customers who bothered running through the rain and winds just to buy flowers.

Somehow, he was stuck in some sort of rush of happiness, after last night's date. Sure, it hadn't been all great, that emotional explosion put a bit of a damper on it, but even so... the ending had been perfect.

That kiss had been a shot in the dark, and to be honest, he had expected either a string of curses and a turned back, or a slap across the face. Instead, he'd received that shy, adorable little smile. God, it had completely melted his heart, and just thinking about it made him somewhat light-headed.

Francis and Gilbert had practically pounced on him the moment he got back, and he'd ended up telling them most of what had happened. He'd left out certain details, however, because he had a feeling his cute little Italian wouldn't be too happy about anyone knowing about that. Especially someone he had never met.

The bell over the door rang, startling him out of his blissful thoughts, and he straightened, turning his attention and his smile to the person by the door.

"Welcome..." his voice drifted off uncertainly at the sight of the tall man that had entered. Despite the rain, the stranger wore only a dark green sweater, with the hood drawn up, shadowing the higher parts of his tan face. Antonio had been taught at an early age that he shouldn't judge by appearance, but there was something about this guy that just sent chills up his spine.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely, smiling none-the-less. The stranger glanced in his direction, before giving a small smile, which didn't seem to reach his dark eyes, from what Antonio could see. Somehow, he felt steadily more uncomfortable, as the stranger looked around, apparently searching for something.

Eventually, he found what he was searching for, and came up to the counter, at a slow, steady pace that somehow reminded Antonio of a predator fooling his prey into thinking he was harmless. As he stopped in front of the counter, the man lay a single flower down on the counter top; an orange lily.

"Oh... Right, that will cost-" he didn't get any further, as the stranger but the correct amount of money down on the counter top, that eerie smile still in place.

"You can keep that," he said eventually, his dark voice having a certain edge to it. The next moment, he had turned and left the store, leaving Antonio to stare after him. Eventually, he glanced down at the lily, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. A friend had thought him the symbolism of flowers a few years ago, claiming it to be something very few bothered caring about these days. Antonio had always found it rather fascinating, not to mention romantic, and thus had looked into it on his own as well.

At the moment, he wasn't so sure romantic was the right word to describe the flower presented to him.

"What the..." looking at the door, a crease forced its way onto his forehead, and his previous happiness seemed to go down the drain. Was it coincidental? No, if it had been, why would the stranger buy a flower just to give it to him specifically? And that smile... Suddenly the store seemed cold, and Antonio shivered, despite himself.

He was so sure he'd never even seen that guy before. So why would he give him a flower symbolizing disdain and hatred...?

Somehow, his cheerful mood didn't seem to want to come back after that, even though he'd long since thrown the flower in the garbage bin. Pushing the encounter to the back of his head for now, he did manage to almost forget about it, but there was still a certain sense of foreboding lingering that only seemed to grow as the sky outside grew darker and heavier.

He only had about an hour left of work, when the door bell alerted his attention. Surprised, he looked up from where he stood, with his arms full of the tulips he was putting into a different bin. The next second, he smiled brightly when he recognized the person in the doorway.

"Lovi!" The sudden exclamation and loss of focus made some of the runaway flowers brush against his nose, and he was overcome by a sneezing fit, nearly dropping the whole bunch.

"Bless you," Lovino said, with that little, crooked smile that escaped onto his lips whenever he was particularly amused.

Somehow, Antonio managed to get the flowers in place, straightening and stretching his arms. It had been a very long day, and his body was getting tired of doing nothing but minor chores. Honestly, how could not doing anything put so much strain on his body?

"You came to see me?" he asked hopefully, noticing the way Lovino blushed slightly, glancing away and nonchalantly walking up to a row of flowers, as if he had a purpose for his visit.

"No, I just ran all the way through the fucking rain just to buy a stupid flower," came the sarcastic reply, as the Italian's hands buried themselves into the pocket of his pants. He was dressed rather formally, just like the first day he appeared in the store. Antonio figured it was his work attire. Glancing down at his own apron over a pair of baggy jeans and an old shirt, he couldn't help but smile at the differences in appearances.

Smiling, he looked back up at Lovino. "This brings back some memories," he said, skipping over to the other, and brushing some rain off of the auburn strands of hair, which were predictably starting to curl a bit. Perhaps he should ask the other to give up his futile attempts at straightening his hair; he quite liked the ruffled look these curls gave him. To his pleasant surprise, Lovino didn't draw away from the contact, though he did blush a deeper shade of pink than before.

"Heh, some memories... don't remember much going right the first time I came here," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head as if trying to will the memories out of his head.

"I wouldn't say that; it made me meet you! I think that makes it qualify as a very good memory." Antonio couldn't resist the temptation, quickly placing a chaste kiss on the other's blushing cheek.

"B-bastard..." Lovino stuttered, but Antonio could tell it was just another empty curse, because he still wasn't shying away, despite the fact that Antonio had invaded his personal space by a great deal.

"It was a really pleasant surprise that you came here! Have you been at work?"

"Yeah..."

"Finished early? I thought you normally worked longer days," Antonio smiled as he walked over to the tulip bin, continuing his abandoned task of transferring the flowers into the new bin, though his attention was still on Lovino, who was now looking around the store, looking more relaxed than Antonio had seen him in a long time. Perhaps it was the magical charm of flowers? Or perhaps it was the charming florist? He chuckled inwardly at this, a slight blush touching his cheeks at the thought of Lovino coming all the way just to see him.

"My work days vary," came the soft-spoken reply, as Lovino's hand gently touched the blue petals of one of the flowers. Antonio couldn't help but admire the genuine gentleness the Italian had when dealing with the plants. He hadn't struck him like the gardening type of person, but then again; he was a man of many surprises. Antonio was just happy to learn new traits and details about the other, no matter how small and insignificant they might seem.

"Really? So... what do you work with, anyway?" Antonio truly hoped he didn't sound as curious as he felt. Lovino tensed only for a second, glancing at Antonio before turning back to the plants.

"Some business marketing stuff."

It wasn't that detailed an explanation, not in the least, but Antonio still felt a bit more light hearted at the new discovery.

"And here I thought you were a secret agent or something!"

"Right, the business marketing stuff is just a facade... although, now that you found out, I'm afraid I'll have to kill you." Their eyes met, and while Lovino's voice was dead serious, there was a certain glint in those golden eyes that gave away his amusement.

"Now, that would have been sad," Antonio laughed. "Seriously, though, you never spoke of your job before, what was I supposed to think?"

"Don't ask me, I don't understand what's going on in that airhead of yours."

"The thought of you being a walking billboard did strike me, though."

"Being a secret agent sounded a lot cooler."

"You'd make a super-cute walking billboard!"

"Oh, shut up."

Time seemed to move a lot quicker with Lovino around, and before he knew it, his work day had passed. Antonio was happy when he could take of the work-apron and pull on his jacket, skipping back out to where Lovino was waiting. The Italian didn't say anything, looking torn between hesitation and embarrassment.

"Want to go get something to eat?" Antonio noticed how the other relaxed at his suggestion, possibly relieved that he wouldn't have to come up with a way of asking Antonio out. It was evident that this had been his intention during most of the visit.

"Whatever."

Antonio responded with a grin, latching on to the other's hand as they headed out the door.

"Then I know the perfect place! It's not far, just follow me!" and with that he chuckled, as he ran off through the rain that somehow didn't bother him at all. All he could notice was their fingers intertwining.

They hadn't run far, before he pulled them both inside the small, cosy café he'd found some time ago. He sometimes went there after work, to get a quick bite before heading home. Despite the fact that it wasn't too far a distance from the store to the café, they were both dripping with rain by the time they arrived. Lovino grumbled, attempting to straighten his curls with a comical half-grimace.

Antonio only grinned, as they were still holding hands, and Lovino was making no attempt to break the contact, despite the fact that they were in public. From previous experiences, it had become quite obvious that the Italian man wasn't all that fond of public affection. Not that there were a lot of customers at the café at the moment.

A few people sat located in the sitting booths or at the bar counter. Lovino's eyes flickered around to take in the atmosphere of the café, and Antonio could tell he liked the place. It was hard not to like it, really. With its wooden furniture, old-fashioned chandeliers and soft lighting, it had a somehow homey feel to it. The soft tunes emitting from the speakers on the wall, added to the atmosphere. Sometimes, there would be karaoke nights there, and there was a piano standing at small stage area, which was at times used for live music. Antonio wondered silently if he could ever convince Lovino to sink karaoke sometime... that would have been fun!

"Come on," he encouraged, lightly pulling Lovino over to the counter, where the owner of the café was standing, chatting lightly with a guy sitting by the counter. She looked up when they came up to her and gave a bright smile.

"Antonio! Good to see you again. I see you're not accompanied by that annoying Frenchman today, how nice!" She still smiled sweetly, but Antonio could tell she was sincerely glad Francis wasn't there. No wonder either, last time he'd shamelessly hit on her, until she hit him. Quite literarily so.

"Buenas tardes, Elizaveta!" Antonio greeted her in return. "No, I doubt Francis will come here for some time." While Francis wasn't known for being easily subdued, Elizaveta had a nasty skill with her frying pan. The young woman was normally mild-mannered, but with quite a temper if you just knew how to set her off.

"But who is this?" she cocked her head, looking at Lovino who was still standing a bit behind Antonio, clearly a bit shy, but hiding it under a nonchalant mask.

"Oh, this is my boyfriend, Lovino!" Predictably, Lovino blushed darkly, glaring at him for being so blunt. Ok, so he felt proud to call the other his boyfriend, was that such a bad thing? The prospect of them being together was still unfamiliar, and some days he wondered if Lovino even agreed. They'd never officially decided to call themselves a couple, after all.

"Aw, I knew it, you two are so cute together!" Elizaveta grinned, and leaned over the counter, holding out a hand. "Hi, I'm Elizaveta. Very nice to meet you, Lovino!" Lovino took her hand and shook it hesitantly.

"You look like a tomato, Lovi!" Antonio couldn't help himself, pinching the Italian's cheek good-naturedly.

"Shut it, bastard," he got in return, along with a sharp poke in his side.

"So, what can I do for you lover boys?" Elizaveta smiled.

"Oh, right! Um, I think I'll have your famous hot chocolate – you should try it, Lovi, it's delicious!"

"I'll have one too, then," Lovino murmured, strangely enough looking quite at ease, despite his previous embarrassment.

They ordered some food to go with the hot liquid, and took seat in one of the booths, looking out on the dreary weather. It was quiet, but not uncomfortably so, and both of them relaxed into their seats, enjoying the peaceful mood lingering about the café.

"Say..." Lovino's voice was quiet, hesitant, and he seemed somewhat lost in thought.

"Hm?" Antonio encouraged softly as the other paused. Lovino seemed to consider how to voice his thoughts, and when he eventually spoke, his voice was barely audible.

"If... if you managed to upset someone you... cared a lot about. What would you do?" The Italian refused to look at him. Antonio guessed this was a personal question, but he was willing to bet a lot that the other hoped he'd let it pass as a rhetorical one.

"Depending on their personality... I'd apologize as many times as needed, and I would do my best not to repeat whatever I did. Oh... and I'd buy flowers, I think."

Antonio realized that Lovino was watching him intently now, and there was a strange expression lingering in his eyes.

"You can say a lot with flowers, you know," Antonio meant to smile, but his thoughts had travelled to the rather uncomfortable incident earlier.

"Flowers are deceptive..."

Antonio wanted to ask what the other meant by that, but quickly chose not to when he took notice of the dark expression that had touched his eyes. Somehow, it reminded Antonio of the emotions he'd felt that morning when the lily had been presented to him. Only more spooked.

"Not all of them," he said instead, smiling softly. And just like that, the expression was gone and Lovino's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"I suppose flowers could be a nice thing..."

"I could help you pick some good ones, you know," Antonio smiled, and Lovino blushed, looking like he wanted to protest that it had in fact been a rhetorical statement, and that he wasn't intending to apologize to his brother. His smile softened at this. His little Lovino could be so adorable; acting all tough when he really cared a lot for his brother.

"Whatever... bastard." But it was as clear as day that he was thankful for the offered help. At least to Antonio it was. He was beginning to get very familiar with his boyfriend's ways, and somehow the Italian didn't seem quite as hard to read as before.

His boyfriend. That word, which made his heart flutter. That word, which made him feel all mushy inside, as though his intestines had turn into jelly. That word, which made him feel shy and insecure. He often found himself wondering if it meant as much to Lovino, and the thought that this might not be the case was quite unnerving.

Deeply lost in his thoughts, he watched as Elizaveta came over to them, putting the food and hot chocolate from her tray and onto the table. He could see her and Lovino chatting a bit, though the words were lost on him. All he could do, was drown in the beauty of the man in front of him, taking note of tiny details that usually went lost on him.

The uncertain look in those golden eyes, betraying his mask of confidence. The defined, yet soft features of his face. The way the sharp tip of his nose pointed just slightly upwards in the cutest way. The way his lips would move aside to show a row of pearly teeth when he spoke...

"-tonio?" Blinking out of his thoughts, he realized that Lovino was eying him with a raised eyebrow, obviously feeling self-conscious due to Antonio's intense gaze. Elizaveta was gone, and Lovino had clearly caught him staring. Suddenly, his words somewhat registered in Antonio's dazed mind, and he felt his heart speed up.

"W-what did you call me?"

"Antonio?" Lovino was clearly confused now, probably questioning the Spaniard's sanity. And for a good reason to, as it wasn't exactly normal to react that way to the mere mention of a name. "That is your name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but... That's the first time you called me by my name!" It might be a silly thing, but Antonio was positive he could have died happy right there and then, just from hearing his name coming from Lovino's lips.

"Oh..." Lovino looked a bit put off at this, and it looked like he was wondering whether to feel guilty for not having called him by his name even once, or happy that Antonio even noticed.

"Say it again?" Antonio eyed him hopefully.

Lovino looked at him, both eyebrows raised now, though he did comply. "Antonio..." Dear God, the way his slight Italian accent affected the pronunciation sounded like music in the Spaniard's ears, and he grinned.

"Again."

"Antonio."

"Again?"

"You are so fucking weird... Antonio."

"Ag-"

"No, damn it! Jeez, get over it already..." Antonio smiled brightly, but didn't push the matter further. Besides, if Lovino had uttered the name even one more time with that adorable blush of his, Antonio might just have forgotten about the hot chocolate and sandwich, opting for a taste of Italian instead. He had no doubts Elizaveta wouldn't mind, being the hopeless romantic that she was. He also had no doubts that Lovino would probably weaken – if not destroy – his ability to have children, before leaving in a cloud of profanities.

"Sorry," he smiled, and things fell quiet again, as they ate in peace.

Neither of the two noticed the shadow across the street, leaning against a brick wall and eying them from the shadow of his hood. Blowing a small string of smoke, the figure threw the cigarette stump to the ground, crushing it effectively with the heel of his boot. The next moment, he had left, disappearing into the thin crowd of people rushing through the rain.

If it hadn't been for the rain clouding their vision, people might have rushed to get out of his path upon noticing the icy expression in his dark eyes, which in turn were untouched by the smile playing at his lips.

oOo

Thanks for reading! If you could leave me a comment telling me what you thought of this, I'd be really happy~ ^^

Buenas tardes – Good afternoon (Spanish)