Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciate it! Thanks to PrussianPanda for the anonymous review as well, it made me very happy! : ) So, I decided to post another chapter this weekend. After this, there's only one chapter to go, and it will most likely be up next weekend!

oOo

Why he had taken Antonio to see this little happy memory of his, Lovino wasn't sure. The trip to the tree had in no way been spontaneous, seeing as he'd been considering it for quite some time now, but the fact that he managed to actually go through with it was still somewhat surprising. Perhaps it was because Antonio had shared so much with him, and he felt he'd only given him secrets, lies and half-truths in return. Heck, he might be a bastard, but he was raised well enough to know the meaning of "unfair".

It might also be a way for himself to open up, in order to finally tell Antonio about the reason he and Feliciano came to live with their grandfather in the first place. In fact, by the time they reached Antonio's apartment, he had almost managed to man himself up for a real talk, no matter what the outcome might be.

Of course, to believe that they might actually have a moment to themselves was a bit too naive, now that he thought about it. Lately, they hadn't had a single chance to actually be on their own for more than a few minutes at a time, before someone or something interrupted them. Apparently, getting away from the hospital made no difference what so ever.

"Toni!" A squealing blob of blonde hair, sun-tanned skin and colourful clothes seemed to attack out of nowhere once they reached the hallway of the apartment building. It happened too fast for them to react, and Lovino felt something inside him snap when he heard the pained groan coming from the Spaniard as the blob attached itself to his body in what was probably meant as a simple, affectionate hug.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Pushing the blob – a girl, he now realized, and a steadily more confused and concerned girl, by the looks of it – out of the way. Growling menacingly at her for a second, he turned to Antonio, who'd gone sickly pale, but was still giving a weak smile to show he was okay. Though, supporting heavily on the wall and looking ready to pass out hardly counted as "okay" in Lovino's mind. Damn, Antonio could barely walk on his own accord without aggravating the wound, having someone jump at him clearly didn't help.

"What- Toni, what's going on? Are you all right...?" Lovino paused in his quest to check that Antonio really hadn't reopened his wounds, to get a better look at her, and realized that she was quite pretty, and – fortunately for her – didn't look like she had meant any harm by attacking him out of nowhere. The next thing that registered was that she was calling him "Toni", but he didn't get the chance to dwell on that as Antonio grinned, thankfully looking a bit less white and not supporting quite as heavily on the wall anymore.

"Bella! You never told me you were going to visit!" She still looked very worried, and also nervous – something Lovino realized without feeling too guilty, was because of the warning glares he was sending in her direction –, but newfound confusion also found its way to her face.

"Didn't you get my messages...? Oh, I'm so stupid! You didn't answer, but it never struck me that you might not even have gotten them..."

"As if it isn't the bastard's own fault for not checking his own mail," came a deep, grumbling voice from the door to the apartment, and only now did Lovino catch sight of the other unexpected visitor. This was surprising, considering he wasn't exactly a small man; being broad-shouldered and with a great deal of muscle to his otherwise slender figure.

"Willem! You came too?"

The man only gave a deadpan expression, as if to say "duh, isn't that obvious?" Lovino recognized the silent communication this man seemed to give off – it was something he himself had practiced for many, many years after all.

"But, uh... let's not stand out here, please, come inside," Antonio smiled, but Lovino could see the pain still lingering in the way he moved his body cautiously towards the door. The visitors also seemed to notice this, but as Bella opened her mouth to ask, Antonio spoke, voice serious. "Inside," he repeated, unlocking the door and letting both guests into the apartment before giving Lovino a meaningful glance. A silent message that the situation was under control, and that he needed the currently stressed and angry Italian to calm down. Honestly, sometimes the way Antonio so easily balanced out his violent moods made Lovino feel like he was an ill-tempered horse, and Antonio some kind of horse-whisperer. Well, all right, he'd stay calm. At least he'd try.

Sitting down on the couch after telling his guests to feel like home, Antonio sighed, sinking a bit deeper into the warm comfort of the soft furniture than he had probably intended. Then he took a deep breath.

"I probably missed your message, because I just came from the hospital. Kind of went and... got myself shot."

Lovino wondered if Antonio had ever heard of "beating around the bush", or softening the impact of bad news by talking about random rubbish first. He knew his boyfriend was painfully direct at times, but it still took him by surprise. Glancing at the Spaniard where he half sat, half lay in the couch, however, he could sort of understand. Who would want a long, dragged out conversation when they just came from the hospital, still injured, weak and wanting nothing more than to get to bed and sleep until noon the next day? Lovino sighed softly. These visitors probably couldn't have timed their visit at a worse time.

The girl, Bella, stared at him, mouth open and eyes round and alarmed. Willem, or whatever the nonchalant dork was called, looked a bit like he'd been pierced by a needle, rapidly losing all the air of confidence and aloofness that had been so obvious just moments ago. When they spoke in unison, their voice held the exact same tint of disbelief, bordering on hysterics.

"You WHAT?"

"He got shot, spent three weeks in hospital, just came home. And in case you haven't noticed, and can't understand, he's exhausted. So what if we could take this conversation at a later time?" Lovino could tell Antonio was staring at him, and knew that both of the guests were looking at him with a mix of guilt and an urge to demand answers. They seemed to understand, however, nodding numbly.

"But... you'll be ok, right?" Bella questioned gingerly, and the look she gave Antonio made a wave of uncertainty wash up in Lovino's chest yet again, before suddenly he remembered what his boyfriend had told him earlier. This had to be his friends from Spain, the ones he had come to think of as his own siblings. The previous anger at the two seemed to die out a bit at this realization, quickly being replaced by regret.

"I'll be just fine, Bells," Antonio smiled. Then suddenly he blinked, sitting up a bit straighter and grinning. "By the way, I don't think I ever got to introduce you – This is Lovino. My boyfriend!"

At any normal time, Lovino would have blushed heavily, sputtered and protested violently at such unexpected proclamation of their relationship. Now, however, he couldn't help but feel immensely relieved and warm inside at the obvious pride and affection in the Spaniard's eyes.

"Oh, Antonio, I just knew you'd find your Miss- sorry, Mr. Right eventually!" Bella exclaimed joyfully, turning fully to Lovino and holding out her hand, still looking both hesitant and a bit guilty, but smiling hopefully none-the-less. "Hi, I'm Bella, an old friend of Toni's."

Taking her hand, he didn't shake it, but instead kissed it's back delicately, giving a small smile. People could call him many things, and he knew he wasn't exactly the definition of "Gentleman", but he was still Italian, and he'd be damned if he didn't show some fucking respect to a pretty young lady. Especially a pretty young lady that he'd pushed rather aggressively just moments before, he thought guiltily to himself.

"Pleasure to meet you, Signorina. I apologize for pushing you earlier, it was very rude of me..."

If he thought everyone had been staring oddly at him before, he was dead wrong. Bella was blushing, for some reason, while her brother looked like he was torn between protectiveness and respect. Antonio's green eyes were wide for a moment, and Lovino didn't have time to analyze his expression before he gave a smile so happy and all together sincere that it made his own cheeks heat up to the shade of the tomatoes he used to grow in his garden.

"... Anyone want something to drink? Ok, I'll get something f-from the fridge then," he sputtered quickly, marching stiffly into the kitchen before anyone had the chance to object. Instead of bringing drinks out of the fridge, he opened it and leaned his forehead against the door for a moment to cool himself down. Damn, if he knew that being polite and respectful would make everyone gawk at him like a third eye just popped up on his face, he might have stayed a silently annoyed weirdo.

Forcing his head out of the fridge and actually getting the drinks he promised the others, he walked back into the living room, only to halt when Bella turned, holding her finger to her lips. Obviously, Antonio had been too tired to even stay awake for the sake of his guests. Breathing a poof of air, Lovino sat down the drinks, and did the first thing that came to mind; Pulling the Spaniard gently but firmly into his arms, bridal style, and stumbling to the bed room. It probably was a miracle he didn't hurt neither Antonio nor himself, he mused, as he got his boyfriend safely to bed, pulling off his shirt and jacket, checking that the bandages were still in place, before tucking the covers around him, and kissing his forehead softly.

Only afterwards did he realize what the heck he'd just done, staring at the bed with shock. Clearly he had been too tired himself to even realize how heavy the Spaniard had been for his pathetically weak arms. And to think he'd carried him like some kind of... princess. No, he definitely wouldn't tell Antonio about the uncharacteristic action, knowing the Spaniard would only have too much fun teasing him about it. God, what the heck had he been thinking? And jeez, his back would no doubt hurt later; he wasn't built for stuff like that. Not that Antonio was too heavy. The weeks in hospital hadn't done much for his already slender figure, and Lovino decided that he'd have to make sure the Spaniard ate at least twice as much as normal, so he could get back to his old healthy self.

Sighing, Lovino moved to leave the bed room, only coming to a new, and even worse, realization as he entered the living room and was met by two pair of incredulous eyes. With Antonio out of commission, it became painfully obvious who had the job of entertaining the guests and coming up with a sleeping plan for all of them, seeing as sending them back to Spain or wherever they came from just wasn't an option.

Oh joy...

oOo

The following days were challenging in so many ways for Lovino, who had to make sure that his boyfriend, the fool, stayed put and relaxed like he was supposed to, at the same time as he had to deal with the guests. By all means, they weren't bad people, though Willem tended to rub him the wrong way with his aloof, serious personality at times. The problem wasn't them, he figured. The real problem was timing, and finding the motivation and strength to stay controlled and polite when he just wanted to give them all the finger and walk out, slamming the door behind him. Seriously, they acted like such children at times.

He had never been much of a people person, and being stuck in a not-so-big apartment with three of them, practically sleeping on top of each other – except for Antonio, who got the privilege of the bed, seeing as he was injured – was difficult. Very much so. He was tempted to get back to work, but doctors had put him on a sick leave, on the grounds of having gone through a very traumatic experience in addition to still suffering the lingering effects of the persistent pneumonia he'd developed.

But honestly, Lovino wondered what was the most traumatic; the ordeal at the church or listening as Bella and Antonio chattered mindlessly on and on about anything and everything, or putting up with the childish arguments between Antonio and Willem. There was never a quiet moment, from the moment they woke up until Antonio practically passed out, dead tired, when evening came.

The fact that Francis and Gilbert constantly seemed to pop in as well, didn't help at all. Well, it did kind of help when Francis insisted he'd make food for them all, but that didn't really balance out all the other shit that came with the two eccentric guys.

Lovino's only comfort was that all his guests slept well into late morning, sometimes almost noon. Which meant that he, as an early riser, had a few hours to himself before all hell broke loose. This time was usually spent taking an early walk around the streets as shops and homes woke up to face a new day. He enjoyed these walks, even if the crisp autumn air made his persistent cough worsen a bit as he breathed deeply through the scarf he tucked securely around his neck.

Walking slowly down the sidewalk, enjoying the peace and quiet, like he was doing now, he could let his mind work through everything that had happened without getting depressed. Something about the early morning hours made his stressed and melancholy tendencies lose their hold for a while.

To think that everyone seemed to think it would be good for him to take time off from work, that it would be "relaxing" and "healthy". He should invite those stupid doctors over, show them exactly how things had been these last few days, and ask them again what was supposed to be so fucking relaxing and healthy about it.

Going back to his and Feliciano's house hadn't even been considered. Selfishly leaving Antonio on his own with a healing bullet wound and two houseguests would be simply cruel. Besides, someone had to make sure the idiot Spaniard didn't go and rip his stings in his eagerness to get back to his normal daily life. The aspect of taking the time to heal seemed to be completely unfamiliar to him.

Somehow, the thought of living separately from Antonio again, wasn't as tempting as he would have thought when he moved into the apartment. Perhaps it was because they had spent nearly every waking moment together these last few weeks. Even when Antonio was still in a coma, Lovino had stayed with him. God, that had been awful. Every day he found himself praying that he'd never have to go through that kind of waiting and hoping again. Antonio wasn't meant to be lying motionless in a hospital bed, pale, unsmiling and looking more dead than alive. Not that anyone was, of course, but especially not someone as lively as him.

"Lovino?" a hand connected with his shoulder and he gasped, whirling around. He wasn't sure what happened, but for a moment, all he could see was Sadiq's furious face as he gripped his shoulders tightly, pushing him against the wall.

"N-no, stay away!" Tearing out of the grip on his shoulder, he was shaken out of the hallucination or whatever it was.

"Oh my... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" As the world spun back into its rightful place, Lovino realized that he had somehow ended up by Elizaveta's café, and she was apparently just about to open up. He wondered how he hadn't noticed where he was or that she was there. Maybe he was still half-asleep.

"No, no, it's not your fault, I was just lost in my own thoughts, I guess..." he waved off her apologies, embarrassed at over-reacting like that. She eyed him for a moment, before smiling warmly.

"Out for a morning walk?" she wondered, flipping the sign on the door to 'open'.

"Yeah... Needed some peace and quiet." He breathed in the scent of cakes and other treats that washed out of the open doorway, forgetting that deep breaths tended to activate the coughing mechanism. Elizaveta looked worried as he fell into a coughing fit, one of the harsher ones he still got from time to time. It made his chest ache, but he'd gotten strangely used to the sensation, and didn't think too much of it.

"Nasty cold you got there, honey... That cough doesn't sound good at all!"

"Pneumonia, actually. And it's ok, I'm through the worst, the doctor says."

"Pneumonia? And you're out walking in this cold weather?" To his surprise, he was guided firmly into the café, and all but forced into a booth close to the counter. "Now you stay there, and I'll be right back with something warm for you to drink!" Slightly startled, he watched her as she began fumbling around behind the counter for a cup, which she efficiently filled with hot chocolate. Coming back and setting it down on the table, she sat down across from him.

"I haven't seen sign of any of you boys for weeks now. Of course, if you've been sick, I can understand." Lovino felt a somewhat sinking sensation in his stomach, remembering for the first time that Antonio was pretty much a regular visitor at the café, and none of them had remembered to tell the young woman about everything that had happened. His emotions must somehow have leaked into his expression, because she grew alarmed and eyed him cautiously. "Is something wrong...?"

"It's... a long story. You might want to sit." Those words combined with Elizaveta's almost motherly personality seemed to break an invisible dam he hadn't even been aware of. Before he really knew what was going on, he was telling her about Sadiq and his torment, about the day at the church when he'd been so sure that all of them were going to die, and about all the emotions that had threatened to break him so many times over the last few weeks.

And Elizaveta listened patiently the entire time, holding his hand tightly over the table and giving him her full and undivided attention. She said nothing apart from giving small sounds of encouragement, and it wasn't until after Lovino was done talking that she moved from her position at all. Standing, she came around the table, and sat down next to him, pulling him into a one-armed hug.

"I... don't know what to say," she murmured quietly, clearly shaken by the story. Lovino shook his head, drying off the stray tears that had escaped down his cheeks without him even noticing.

"You don't have to say anything. I'm sorry for venting on you..."

"Oh, don't you worry about that. I'm just happy you managed to talk about it, sweetie. It helps, doesn't it?" Lovino nodded, relaxing into the embrace and looking at her with a small smile.

"Yeah. Thanks, Elizaveta."

She smiled in return, before a more solemn expression took its place. "So... what happened to Sadiq? I sure do hope he got arrested and gets to sit and rot in jail for what he did to you!" Lovino ignored the dark and somewhat disturbing expression on her otherwise pretty face, and swallowed.

"He killed himself, actually. I didn't see it myself, but Ludwig did. He said that Sadiq probably thought he had killed Antonio when he shot him, and couldn't deal with it... Right afterwards, he pointed the gun at his own head and- It wasn't a pretty sight, Ludwig said." Closing his eyes, Lovino swallowed heavily. He couldn't imagine what it would be like seeing someone kill themselves right before their eyes, and was very glad Ludwig had demanded that Feliciano close his eyes and not open them until they were out of the church. "Antonio was facing him when the second shot went off, but I don't know if he was conscious enough to actually see it happen..."

Elizaveta shook her head with a shuddering sigh, clearly trying not to picture it. "God, it's all so... unreal," she murmured. "I can't even begin to imagine how you must feel!"

Lovino thought about it. What did he feel? He hadn't paid much mind to what he was feeling lately, it had just somehow drowned in his worry for his boyfriend's life and health. His eyes slipped closed, as he tried fishing out his own emotions. He had expected to find that he was angry at Sadiq for trying to kill his boyfriend, or even happy that the bastard who had ruined so much was finally dead and gone. He had expected a violent storm of emotions. Opening his eyes eventually, he took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"I just feel... sad that things had to turn out like this," he whispered. Elizaveta nodded slowly, and for a while they just sat there together, while a gentle tune played on the radio in the distance. "And... I want to talk to Antonio, but those damn guests..." he broke off with a tired groan, and Elizaveta blinked in confusion.

"What guests?"

"Some friends of Antonio's, a pair of siblings, apparently. Don't get me wrong, I... don't have anything against them-" not all that much against them, at least, "- but... well..."

"You want your boyfriend to yourself?"

Those words made his face practically explode, and he muttered some half-hearted protests that clearly Elizaveta ignored. "Then please, allow me to help you!" she exclaimed eagerly, and the look in her eyes somehow made him feel like he'd unleashed some kind of beast with his words.

"H-how exactly...?" he questioned, slightly suspicious of her expression.

Elizaveta simply petted his head with a little laugh and winked. When she spoke, it was with a tone he hadn't heard her use before, and quite frankly; he wasn't sure whether he should feel thankful or frightened. "Oh, don't you worry, sweetheart! I have a plan."

oOo

Oh no, Lovino released the yaoi-monster... Hehe. I'd love some feedback, guys! ^^

Signorina: Miss (Italian).