~Summer Solstice~

Date: June 20
Time: 20:15 (8:15 pm)

Lovino pulled his knees closer to his chest, watching the sky as the sun had just begun to set. The solstice was almost done. The sun shone no more, and the moon was about to shine in the night sky. It had been a tranquil day, free of problems and full of idle thoughts.

June 20th was the longest day, meaning the sun spent longer out, giving off it's warm rays. Lovino had spent most of the day lost in his thoughts. To admit it, even if he had been doing something to keep his mind busy, his idle thoughts continued to float around in his mind, poking at him.

The sun basked down o him all day long,turning his skin a slight darker shade. All the sun did was irritate him. Whereas all the others - and there were others - enjoyed the sunlight, Lovino was more than slightly bothered by it.

He was more than glad when the sun began to set, and he made himself comfortable on the hood of Antonio's car, which was parked somewhat hig up, giving Lovino a view of the sky. Lovino may not have liked the sunlight on occasions, but he did enjoy the sky, and watching the sun set was a personal favorite.

Lovino's position shifted as he sat on the hood of Antonio's car. He was only sitting on it because he and Feliciano had hitched a ride to the beach from him. They weren't the only one's who hit the waves on this sunny day. Practically everyone was there: Gilbert, Francis, Alfred, Arthur, Ivan, hell, even Matthew was there! Among those, Ludwig was included.

Lovino sighed as he stretched, stifling a yawn. He had spent most of the day in the water and was almost completely tired out. He was tempted to climb inside of Antonio's car and take a nap if he wasn't sure that as soon as he did that, someone would pull some childish prank on him. As he rubbed his eyes, he didn't notice the soft blue eyes that watched him a little ways off.

Ludwig would admit that his eye strayed off to Lovino a tad more than necessary the whole day. Whenever he heard his voice, or was simply curious about what he was doing, his eyes always strayed to the Italian. Only for a split second, and then he looked away, concentrating on whatever was the subject of interest at the moment, the subject that wasn't Lovino.

The German knew he was still putting himself down for what he almost did. Stealing a kiss from a sleeping person was shameful thing to do, and he was slightly glad he stopped himself in time. Slightly glad. One part of him truly regretted not kissing Lovino. Of course, that day had been a few months ago, and Lovino was aware of nothing at all. As far as he knew, he had been all alone, taking a nice nap.

Ludwig let out a frustrated grunt and ran a hand through his hair, which he had let hang down. Usually Ludwig slicked back his hair, and he actually had this morning, but throughout the day- with the water and consistent foolishness- it had come undone.

"West." Gilbert called, standing next to him. Ludwig glanced over at his older brother, and watched him nod in Lovino's direction. "Go talk to him."

Right. Ludwig had almost forgotten that Gilbert had found out about his newly developed "crush." Ludwig, along with many other people took Gilbert for granted. He was much more observant and calculating then he let on. It hadn't taken the albino very long to notice the side glances Ludwig cast at Lovino. Or the faraway gaze Ludwig always had. It also hadn't taken very long to figure out that Lovino cast the same glances and had the same far off look. Although, as it seemed, Gilbert also noticed that both parties had yet to pay attention and notice the obvious.

"No." came the blunt answer. There was absolutely no way in hell that Ludwig would go off and just talk to Lovino like nothing. What would he even say? He was more than sure that their time together would be filled with awkward silence the whole time.

"Why not?" Gilbert raised a brow at his brother, curious for his answer.

"Just because you found out I like him, does not mean you can take matters into your own hands brother. That is not your place. If I choose to leave my feelings unspoken, then they shall stay that way."

Gilbert gave a crooked grin and pushed Ludwig, waving his hand out in the air and calling out, "Hey, Lovi!" The Prussian man grabbed hold of Ludwig's white shirt and tugged him in the direction of the Italian, who still seemed lost in his thoughts. Gilbert continued to call out for Lovino until he finally managed to pull him out of his dream land and back into reality.

"Huh?" Lovino blinked, trying to get a clear focus of his surroundings. It was then that he noticed the approaching albino, somehow missing the fact that the subject of his affection was being dragged along. "Oh. It's you. What do you want now?" He seemed a little less than pleased by his new company.

Gilbert gave a toothy grin and thrust Ludwig forward. The blond stumbled and almost crashed face first into the hood of the car. He managed to stop the impact with his arms and let out an irritated sigh. Ludwig craned his neck to give his brother a glare.

"Well, I'm out!" Gilbert winked at the pair and ran off with a loud laugh, leaving them in an awkward silence.

"Just go." Lovino sighed, sliding off the red car and heading for it's door. He pulled it open and grumbled, "I'm not in the mood to talk."

Ludwig watched with interest as Lovino stepped in the car and let his head hang back in the seat. Even though the windows were closed, Ludwig could picture the Italian letting out an irritated sigh. He was now interested in what had Lovino so ticked off. Going around the car, Ludwig opened the other door and climbed in next to Lovino.

"Potato bastard, I thought I told you to leave." Lovino grumbled, glaring at Ludwig.. He had been managing on keeping his emotions in check, and his heart was as calm as it could possibly get when he was around the person he liked.

"You did." Ludwig nodded.

"Then why the hell are you still here?" Lovino huffed, turning his back to the German.

"I don't know." Ludwig sighed with a shrug. "Tell me Lovino, why do you hate me so much? I did nothing to you, at least as far as I'm aware of."

Lovino stiffened, which went unnoticed by the German who was looking at him expectantly. Lovino let a growl rip from his throat as he turned to face Ludwig.

"My brother." Lovino explained, holding up a finger. "You care for him, right?" he didn't wait for an answer, opting to continue in what would soon become a rant. "I care for Feli too, and I don't want to see you hurt him, or make him cry, or upset him. I know you've already done all of that. Hell you've done it to me too. Look, it's not that I hate you because you're German, because I can handle that shit! It's that fact that you can easily hurt someone. Look, I'm not Feli and I don't forgive as easy. This is not going to end up like last time."

Lovino was about to climb out of the car when a hand stopped him: Ludwig's hand.

"Let go." his voice was calm and cold.

Ludwig shook his head. "That didn't male any sense Lovino. I won't understand unless you explain it to me."
He pulled Lovino back in his seat gently, and awaited for an explanation. Lovino was silent for several minutes before continuing, more calmly this time.

"You care for my brother, right?" he repeated, this time awaiting the nod from Ludwig. When he received it, he continued. "No matter how many times you make him cry or feel bad, you always apologize, right?" another nod from the German. "He always forgives you. I, on the other hand, am not that damn forgiving. I hate you because you consistently upset me, and never bother to apologize."

Ludwig blinked. Lovino's logic did have some sense to it. "Well, if it means anything, I'm sorry now."

"You ever been in love?" The question was sporadic. Lovino expected an immediate answer. A simple yes or no, but it never came. Instead, Ludwig shot him a confused look. No a confusion of the question. It seemed like Ludwig didn't really know how to answer the question, like he wasn't truly sure of what to answer.

"I don't know." Ludwig managed an answer. He wasn't really sure in the sudden shift in the car. The feelings and moods were fluctuating between the two, leaving both in confused states. Unspoken tension filled the car, which suddenly seemed more cramped.

"I have." Lovino let out a humorless chuckle. "Trust me, you don't want it. It's heart break"

"Why are you telling me this?" Ludwig blinked his blue eyes in confusion.

"I'm just letting you know your sorry won't have any effect on me." Lovino shrugged. My feelings for you already left a damn impression...

"Just out of curiosity, who were you in love with?" Ludwig managed a question after more moments of awkward silence. He was truly curious, and he'd be damned if he admitted it, he was also a bit jealous of this person Lovino had fallen for, whoever they were.

"Well, I'll give you a hint: We're sitting in his car." Lovino stated, hiding his face in his knees.

It hit Ludwig hard, and another wave of jealousy rolled over him. Antonio. "Antonio?"

"Congrats, you got it right." Lovino mumbled. He straightened up, looking at Ludwig dead in the eyes. "You're the one person I've told, ever. Never tell anybody, got it? I loved him a long time ago. He broke my heart without realizing it, and I learned to move on. Word of advice, don't fall in love."

"It might be to late for that." Ludwig mumbled, not loud enough for Lovino to hear. "I'm sorry. Truly."

"I don't want your fucking pity. I moved on. Antonio is nothing but a friend now." Lovino seethed, glaring daggers at the sky through the glass of the car.

"Hm. It wasn't pity." Ludwig leaned back in the car, silent.

Lovino didn't bother with a response, he simply leaned back in his seat as well. slowly, the tension disappeared and was filled with a slightly calm silence. After this night, it had left. all the tension between the pair, all the fight left in each of them gone. They finally voiced their opinions, and all was, to an extent, was resolved.

Now, all that was left was the unspoken love that stood between the pair.

A/N - I must say I'm not exactly proud of this chapter. I'm not the best at capturing serious moments. Ugh... Oh well, I tried my best. Well, at least the prologue was explained, if you still remember it...

Just so you know, I skimmed through this so if I missed any spelling errors, I'll get to them later. See you next week-ish. You know, if I get off my lazy ass.