Chapter 6, a little later than usual but a little longer.

"Ugh…" Romano slowly came to his senses. He immediately winced. The light that surrounded him had penetrated the defense of his eyelids, thus blinding him and exacerbating the aching of his head. This was the worst hangover that he had had in years. When his eyes had adjusted to their surroundings, Romano sat up. He was apparently in an unfamiliar bedroom. This made him panic. How did he get here? He was debating whether to yell or keep quiet when the door suddenly opened.

"Oh, you're up! Morning, Romano!" Antonio entered cheerily. He walked over to the bed casually and sat down.

"Where am I, bastard?"

"In my apartment. I brought you here after you passed out."

"Oh. Uh, thanks, I—Wait a minute. Didn't you leave before I passed out?" Antonio laughed nervously.

"Are you hungry? Come on, let's go eat breakfast!"

"Meaning you stuck around after you claimed you were leaving," Romano stated flatly. The events of the night before resurfaced in his memory. He looked away. "And you heard everything that the wine bastard and I said."

"Sort of," Antonio admitted with a small chuckle. But when Romano remained silent, he grew worried. "Um, you're not mad or anything, are you?"

"I—" What Romano really felt was conflicted. He could not voice his sentiments, though, so he stayed quiet. His companion was visibly anxious now.

"I only did that because Francis and Gil convinced me to get you drunk to find out if you liked me or not! I wouldn't have done it otherwise, Romano, I swear. And since I think you said you do like me I'm really happy because I like you too Romano, I really do! So please don't be angry at me, and won't you tell me how you feel?"

And won't you tell me how you feel?

How could he even attempt to begin? He had not even sorted his own feelings out properly. True, he liked Antonio. But thoughts that had been suppressed by his intoxication the night before suddenly plagued his mind. Romano had been planning his suicide for what seemed like most of his life. If he wholeheartedly agreed to be with Antonio, that would mean that a large portion of his existence, his history, himself, would be tossed to the wind like so many pieces of dandelion seeds. Worthless. He just couldn't bring himself to do that quite yet. And what if these affections were just a spur-of-the-moment type of fling? What then?

"Romano?" He gazed at Antonio's face. It was filled with all the earnesty and naïveté of a child.

"I… I don't know," he finally said, too quietly to hear.

"Huh?"

"I don't know!" Romano snapped. "I don't know how I feel! I don't know if this is for real, or if it's going to last, or what I'll do if—" It was there that he stopped and drew a breath. "I don't know," he repeated weakly. Antonio reached for his hand, but he pulled away. He tried to ignore the hurt look on the other's face.

"Well, that's okay!" Antonio's gentle words caused Romano to look at him, startled. The man was smiling once more. "I don't mind if you don't know yet. I'll wait for as long as it takes."

"Really?" Didn't the people who said they were unsure about their feelings usually get rejected by their love interests?

"Sure! All I'll ask is that you come with me after you finish working. I want to take you somewhere special." His green eyes sparkled mysteriously. Romano was taken by surprise.

"Um… alright." He was curious, after all.

"Great! So, do you want breakfast now?"

"Yeah. Sure."

The place where Antonio wanted to bring him to was a dock situated near the man's home. It was nothing remarkable, just a weathered wooden wharf jutting out over the water.

"What's this?" Romano asked a little peevishly.

"Mariposa Wharf." There was a wistful look on Antonio's face. "I used to come here a lot, but I barely have time to now. You can see the most beautiful sunsets from here. I wanted to show you one!" He walked over to the edge and sat down. Romano stood awkwardly next to one of the big wooden posts on the wharf. After a moment's deliberation, he went over to Antonio and sat next to him. He watched their legs dangle side by side, Antonio's long ones and his own slightly shorter ones. When he chanced a look at his companion, he found him with a tender smile on his face.

"What is it?" Romano inquired, bemused.

"I'm just enjoying nature. Isn't it beautiful today?"

"Uh, sure." All he could see was some grayish water lapping at the dock posts and a few meager clouds dotting the sky. Anyway, what did he care for the scenery? There were more pressing matters to attend to. Like whether he wanted to risk being with Antonio at all. His companion looked at him, surprised. He must have detected his unenthusiastic tone.

"But, Romano—" There was that name again. He supposed that if he was going to properly attempt to start a relationship, he might as well do it openly. And if Antonio decided not to pursue him because of that, it would save a lot of trouble and heartbreak.

"Actually," he interjected, "My name isn't really Romano. Not my first name, anyway. It's Lovino. Lovino Romano Vargas. I use Romano as my designer's alias." He felt foolish for babbling so much. However, Antonio did not seem to mind.

"Lovino Romano Vargas," he breathed, testing the words out. They sounded like the smooth whispering of the wind on his tongue. "That's a beautiful name." It was in that moment that Romano metamorphosed into a purer, cleaner being: Lovino.

"I—It's not beautiful!" Lovino spluttered. "And I don't tell my real name to just anyone, so don't abuse it!" It was only after he had said it out loud that he realized he had grown to trust Antonio. The man had turned from "just anyone" into a person in who Lovino confided his true name. Did this mean that he was ready to be romantically involved with him? He did not know. Whatever the consequences, he felt like a new man. Private, distrusting Romano had given way to open, honest Lovino. The revealing of his full name equaled his ticket for turning over a new leaf.

"Did you always want to be a designer?" he suddenly heard Antonio ask through the misty haze of his musings. The old Romano would have shied away from the inquiry, as answering would have dislodged unpleasant memories from the past. However, he was Lovino now; Lovino, who was frank and for whom the past was a distant era of time.

"I was always interested in design and aesthetics as a kid. After my mom left, I guess it sort of occurred to me that I could use my interests in a job. To support my family and all." Antonio did not inquire further into the matter. Lovino found that he appreciated him all the more for that.

"Wow. Well, when I was a kid, I wanted to own my own restaurant. I had it all planned out. I would be the manager, Francis would be the cook, and Gil would be in charge of the servers. Together, we would make ourselves the proprietors of the most famous five-star restaurant in the world!" Antonio's eyes blazed with the passion from his childhood days. His arms were thrown out wide, as if to show the enormity of his dreamed-of fame. He seemed to be in a world of his own.

"What happened?" Romano immediately regretted speaking. The light dimmed in the other's green orbs. His arms sank down until they were once again at his sides. Antonio was no longer the hero of his own fantastic world; he was once again just a waiter working in an obscure café.

"I had to pay off expenses when I got older. But I guess working at the café is close enough, right?" He gave a bittersweet laugh and leaned back on his elbows. As he surveyed the passing clouds, his features melted back into his usual contented expression. "Life sure works in funny ways."

"How can you say that? Lovino gaped at Antonio. Here was another person who fate had screwed over; yet, he was happy. In his surprise, the man's words came out more harshly than he had meant them to be. "Your childhood dreams were crushed." Antonio contemplated this.

"I guess that's true. But I'm not doing too badly right now. And who knows? Maybe I will own my own restaurant someday!"

"And what if you don't?"

"Well, that's okay too! I'll just work harder and make a better future for myself."

"'Make' a better future?" Lovino reiterated skeptically. He had not lost that trait during his transformation from Romano.

"Yeah!" Antonio aligned himself comfortably on the wooden dock. "See, I believe that every person has the ability to control his or her own life. It's like writing a story! Only this story is your future and only you have the ability to make it as beautiful as you want." He suddenly sat up. Turning to his companion, he grasped his hand. The other man saw himself reflected in his eyes, surrounded by emerald flames of passionate determination. "Lovino, I've never felt this strongly for anyone else before. I really like you a lot. Will you go out with me and help me create my beautiful story?" Earnesty and longing were evident in his voice. Lovino thought hard. Romano would have refused, thinking only for himself and his suicide. But Lovino realized that his life entailed a little more than that. And although he was not certain as to whether he wanted to end his suicide plan for good, he did realize that he did not like to see Antonio hurt. So he said the only thing that he could.

"Alright." He was sure that his blush could be felt throughout the world.

Upon hearing his assent, Antonio grinned. The intensity of his sunny smile increased until Lovino was spotlighted in a single beam of happiness. Still, Antonio said nothing. He merely encased the other man in an embrace that showed everything that words could not, and more. At first, Lovino froze. Such a gesture was foreign to him. Gradually, he relaxed into Antonio's hold, allowing his first genuine smile in years to grace his lips. They drew away after a while. Antonio was still grinning. He leaned in slowly, tentatively toward Lovino, still clasping both of his hands.

"Can I…?" he murmured in a nearly inaudible voice, as if he was afraid to shatter the fragile moment. Lovino gulped; then he nodded. Antonio smiled again.

His lips touched tenderly to Lovino's. They were the brushing of butterflies' wings against dew-laden leaves; light, gentle, chaste. The kiss lasted for an eternity. Still, Lovino wanted time to stop so the moment would be frozen forever. He closed his eyes and savored it while it lasted.

They were still kissing even as rain broke over them from the clouds obscuring the sky above.

Thanks for reading! I hope it wasn't too bad.

On that note, I want to apologize for the slower and less interesting chapters that I've already posted or am going to post. I'm trying to include something in each chapter that will eventually add up to the conclusion. I realize that focusing so much on this might detract from the overall quality of a chapter. So, please bear with me! The action actually happens later, so... Yeah. Thanks. :0