Lovino walked up and down the room, arms folded as he shot pouting looks towards the Spaniard. He'd only returned from Spain several hours ago, and despite the fact that he may have been tired, Lovino took the next bus to his apartment.

Antonio had greeted the Italian sheepishly, and before Lovino demanded his explanation, made a statement about how he was tired and wanted a rest, but that Lovino was welcome to stay.

Lovino looked again towards the sleeping Antonio, and found himself blushing slightly. Why did Antonio have to look so goddamn hot all the time, even while he sleeps? Lovino knew he wasn't exactly sleeping beauty; he drooled and occasionally talked in his sleep. Not to mention he would have random spells of insomnia or streams of non-sensual nightmares.

He stopped his pacing, and stepped towards Antonio. His eyes graced over him, taking in every inch of his tanned skin, that messy dark hair and toned muscles.

Lovino revolted. Why was he thinking these things? There was no way a subconscious part of him actually felt that… actually, it probably did. He pinched himself on the arm, and sat on the sofa near Antonio's feet. He watched Antonio sleep, because that was a totally not-creepy thing to do. He heard his breathing, soft and regulated, the rise and fall of his chest, the tiny twitches his lips made. Everything around him was like a lullaby, dragging him to sleep…

It wasn't long before he inched further and further down, eventually resting amongst his friend's legs. Of course, when that happened it woke up Antonio. He sat up, slightly groggy, wondering what exactly had interrupted his wonderful dream. He rubbed his eyes, and couldn't help a small smile when he found the Italian sleeping soundly at the foot of his couch.

Reality suddenly dawned on him. He frowned as he realised that he would soon have to be giving Lovino the real explanation. Why was he getting so worked up about it, though? He could trust Lovino… couldn't he? He scratched his head uncomfortably, looking over towards Lovino's sleeping face. "I-I better wake him up, I think," he said, lips curling into a light smile. "He'll probably… yell at me or something if I don't."

"Lovino," he said quietly, shaking the younger man slightly. "Are you awake?"

Lovino shifted slightly, before groaning. "Now I am, thanks a lot bastard…" he muttered, sitting up slightly. "Wait, what? Why am I at your place?" he said suddenly, slightly more awake.

Antonio looked incredulously at him. "You kind of rushed here as soon as I got back, and then fell asleep on my couch," he told him, laughing slightly.

The Italian relaxed slightly. "F-forgot about that, shut up," he mumbled, looking away slightly. He was probably going to tinge red soon..

"A-anyway!" he said loudly, before Antonio could say anything. He looked up at the Spaniard, slightly nervous, yet full on curious. "Uh, right. You. Explanation. Now," he said rather forcefully.

Antonio furrowed his eyebrows, before giving a hopeful look towards Lovino. "Can I at least hear your theories first?" he asked.

Lovino stared. First Antonio had the nerve to disappear off to fucking Spain instead of telling him, forcing him to wait five fucking days, and was now asking for fucking theories? Who did he think he was?

He frowned towards the Spaniard. "Fine. Werewolf?" he asked.

Antonio broke out into laughter. "I thought I said I-I wasn't anything like that?" he cried.

Lovino scowled. "You only said you weren't a vampire or an elf. Um.. an…" he paused, desperately thinking of something that might be somewhat legitimate. "An Immortal?" he guessed wildly.

Antonio stopped laughing, and grew slightly more serious. "Ah, closer… in a way I guess… but also nowhere near…" he added. "Any more?"

"I can't be fucked thinking of shit like this, can you just tell me?" said Lovino exasperated.

Biting his lip, Antonio looked down at the floor. "A-ah, I guess… I guess I could, then," he said, grimacing slightly. He sat back down on the plush sofa, and gesturing for the Italian to sit beside him. Reluctantly, he dropped down onto the cream furniture, and sat next to Antonio.

"I… I…am," he began, before pausing. Might as well say it out right now, rather than creating some kind of dramatic (and probably a fail) build up towards the answer. "I'm a country," he said shortly. And now, he sat back and waited for Lovino's reaction. "And this probably makes absolutely no-"

"No fucking sense? You got that right," replied Lovino, expression flat.

Antonio gave a weak smile in response. "Ah.. yeah.. not really something you hear every day… " he said quietly. "You probably don't believe me, huh?" he asked, but it was more of a rhetorical question. There was a large pause, and Antonio looked awkwardly towards the Italian, who was busy staring at the floor, his fingers interweaving each other.

Lovino sat up, now looking right at Antonio. "A country," he repeated, looking at him carefully. "As in a landmass?" he asked, a slightly sceptical tone in his voice, and also slightly sarcastic.

Antonio blinked. "A-ah, well I'm the country of Spain," he said matter-of-factly. "Think of me as a personified version." He hesitated for a bit, wondering whether or not to continue. Lovino was looking at him expectantly, however, and he sighed before continuing. "When things aren't going well with the country, I well… feel it? I don't know if that's the best word," he laughed sheepishly.

And although he wouldn't admit it, Lovino was quite confused. A country, seriously? He'd never in a million years be able to think of something as…. As…. Irregular as that. Antonio appeared to be a normal human being, yet he was claiming to be a… a goddamn country? He opened his mouth to speak, only to hesitate and falter. Biting his lower lip, he finally managed to get something out. "Are .. are you… I," he said, suddenly uncomfortable. "It's kind of like what I heard your boss say… wait, if you're… Spain," he managed to get out, suddenly thoughtful, " who would that make your boss?" he asked, although he had an idea already.

"Uh, whoever leads Spain I guess?" Antonio replied, eyebrows raised.

Yeah, that was what Lovino was thinking along the lines of. "So… you're like, ages old, right?" he asked, suddenly a little more interested.

Antonio frowned. "Yeah but I only look in my twenties, right? I don't want to look … hundreds of years old, thanks," he said, on the verge of a smile. There was a brief pause, and he suddenly returned to being stoic. "Lovi," he began.

"Hm?" he replied, now looking at the floor.

"Aren't you mad?" he asked quietly.

Lovino stared at up Antonio, suddenly… intrigued? Maybe that wasn't the word… Antonio looked like he was remembering something, god knows how old, but it clearly wasn't something pleasant. "Why would I be mad?" he asked.

Looking up at Lovino, Antonio gave him a thoughtful look. "I-I don't know, maybe because I hid this from you for so long? Something this er, important, especially since we were getting really close…"

Lovino blushed slightly at the last comment. He turned his head, before hastily replying. "E-everyone has secrets, it's just … I'm not really mad, more… confused? Dude, someone I know just told me they're a country, not a human. It's not exactly something you'd … a normal person would hear every day, dammit!" he said, looking up at Antonio, a slightly troubled look in his eyes.

Antonio looked at him and bit his lip. No, he didn't know how it felt since he'd always been like that. "I-I'm just like a normal person, just that I do country-things and… go to war if there's one… and uh, I can't die like a human does," he frowned.

Die. Oh. That was another thing Antonio wouldn't be doing.. in the same lifetime as Lovino, most likely. He swallowed. "So.. you can't die… ever?" he asked softly, curiosity dripping off each word.

Antonio sighed, and leaned forward slightly. "Well, in a way we sort of can, we don't really die, we just cease to exist," he said. "Have… have you ever heard of a country called Prussia?" he asked.

Lovino shook his head.

Looking to the side, Antonio gave a half-hearted smile. "Ah.. I guess they don't really teach that anymore, do they…" he said, slightly spaced out. "A-anyway, well I was friends with the guy that personified Prussia… it was a country a while ago, but dissolved after World War II. His name was Gilbert," he said, a lump suddenly forming in his throat. "And uh… since his country… disappeared, so did he."

Lovino stared. How could Antonio be saying this all so casually? "So… you just woke up one day and he was gone?" he asked.

Antonio frowned slightly. "He did this thing where he officially called his country as dissolved and he just faded, I think," he said quietly. "It..it was a long time ago, I can't quite remember…" he said, shrugging slightly.

Lovino looked down, letting this sink in. So the only way Antonio could die was for… Spain, to physically disappear. That… that was some pretty mindfucking info.

The Italian let his logical side kick in. "Since you work with Francis," he said slowly. "He's a country too," he said, not really expecting a reply, as he pressed on before any coherent reply could be formed. "I'm assuming France, right?" he said, slightly louder, earning a slight nod from the Spaniard. "And… and… Ludwig, that bastard," he said shortly, suddenly serious. "He's Germany or something, isn't he?" he asked.

Antonio smiled sheepishly. "A-ah, yeah… yo-you're good at this Lovi," he said awkwardly, hand running along the tips of his hair.

"No shit, I'm a goddamn genius," he mused. "I'm guessing you don't want me telling anyone, would you? But what about my brother? Him and… Germany," he spat, "are getting kind of…" His mind flashed back to the bottle of lubrication gel he'd found in the cupboard. "Close," he said, for a lack of a better word. He shuddered.

Antonio went silent for a bit. "It's… kind of each country's decision on who to tell and who to not, most choose not to tell," he explained.

Lovino's protective over sibling thoughts took over. "But he's a country, and my brother's just a human, like me… he has a right to know, dammit! He… might not know what he's getting himself into," he said, slightly more pathetic than he'd intended.

"Do you?" Antonio asked. Seeing Lovino's confused reaction, he looked away. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into?"

"I'm different to you, I'm pretty sure you know that now," he said, a pained edge to his voice. "I don't age, I don't die… I don't even have to eat, you know. What happens to me doesn't even affect my country… only the other way around," he said quietly. He hoped that Lovino didn't sense the slight longing in his voice.

"I-I.. of course I know, dammit, otherwise… otherwise I would have left already," came the Italian's reply. There was a brief pause, and Lovino suddenly realised what he'd said. He clamped his hand over his mouth, as he started to tinge pink. "N-n-not that I.. I'd… " he stammered. He decided to shut up.

After another long and awkward pause, he tried again. "L-look," he started. Damn, this was awkward. "I know that you're different er, in some kind of sense," he continued. He still didn't have his head around what Antonio exactly was, but he had some kind of blurry idea. "But you're still a person, aren't you? You might have a different lifespan, or.. or, I don't know, eating habits or something, but… you're more or less just another person, aren't you?" he said pointedly.

Antonio looked at him in surprise. "Y-yea I guess, but-"

"And…. There's no fucking thing that says we can't still be friends," he said quietly.

Antonio stopped his sentence, rendered speechless. His green eyes shone, his heart racing faster than normal. "L-Lovi," he said. He relaxed slightly, into a light smile. "You're amazing, did you know that?" he mused, enjoying the look of surprise on the Italian's face. He pulled him into a tight hug. "Thanks, Lovi," he said quietly.

Lovino felt his heart speed up, as he realized the Spaniard had his arms wrapped around him, his lips buried in his hair.

The Spaniard closed his eyes, his fingers drumming against Lovino's back. "I love you, Lovino," he breathed softly into his hair.

One could not imagine how glad Lovino was that his face was hidden from Antonio's view. In those few seconds, he'd gone such a shade of red that he could rival tomato hands down. He shivered, still caught in Antonio's embrace, and simply closed his eyes. His throat was stuck, and he had no idea what to do. His heart screamed 'l love you too', yet his mind yelled 'don't.' He knew that he loved him. He'd only just come to terms with it, and was still in slight denial. Hearing the guy who clouded his thoughts so often say this to him…

He was too shocked to say anything. Let alone 'me too.' They'd hugged. They'd kissed, on numerous occasions. He'd even been pinned to a wall. It should have been obvious to Lovino, yet he'd denied all those times.

He opened his mouth to say something back, but faltered, and closed it. He instead leaned closer to Antonio, burying himself within his arms. He didn't say anything.

…'should I have?' he asked himself.

-x-

I SWEAR THE FACT IT'S A LITTLE BIT SIMILAR TO TWILIGHT WAS NOT. FUCKING. INTENTIONAL. God, who'd want to copy that anyway e_e; but I noticed how similar it was when Spain asked for theories. /SHOOTS SELF] SOB SOB.

Another chapter that I'm not satisfied with. I tried to fit in how damn weird and awkward it would be but… failed. I found it boring sob. Le sigh. People, tell me what you think, when I get feedback from you readers it makes me feel better T_T; [/low self esteem girl] and yes a crap cliffhanger that fails cos I have NO BLOODY IDEA WHAT TO DO. I mean I do for the next few chapters but I'm so bad at ending them appropriately… ughhh.

Also a quick question: can anyone suggest a good name to use for Belgium?