What Lovino stared at before him was almost too shocking to be real. Even so, it was indeed real this time, instead of one of those stupid fantasies again. But, he didn't know if he should have felt relieved to see Gilbert standing on his doorstep or nervous as hell. There was an average sized suitcase resting next to him on the ground, and he didn't even look towards Lovino's way as they stood in silence. Well, someone had to say something, so Lovino quickly cleared his throat and tried not to sound as shattered as he felt.

"Gilbert?" he began, but his voice still sounded crappy anyway. "What… are you doing here?"

"We broke up," Gilbert answered, his hollow gaze still affixed on the side of the house.

The words seemed to have passed through Lovino's ears like a short breeze of nonsense.

"What?"

"Elizaveta and I are no longer dating. Shit, do I have to spell it out for you?" Gilbert sounded more distressed than irritated, though.

"But… why? I mean, how? What the hell happened?"

Gilbert shifted his weight to one leg and leaned against the wall. He stared blankly up towards the starry night sky and sighed, thinking of an accurate answer. Everything had been so hazy those past few days, and he hardly remembered anything up to walking back into the house earlier that evening when Elizaveta had confronted him about his odd behavior. He didn't really know why he had felt so empty ever since those cruel but confusing words that Lovino had suddenly said to him.

"I told her that I had cheated on her. I didn't say with who, and she didn't ask, so don't worry… you know, it's kind of weird. I imagined she would have killed me in a split second… but, she was angry and confused, then she suddenly started weeping. I had no idea what to do then, but after a while she calmed down and said she couldn't do this anymore, and… she walked out."

Lovino intently listened with a thousand thoughts going through his head. Gilbert and Elizaveta were no longer a couple? But they had been dating for two whole years! This is all my fault, Lovino admitted to himself. If he hadn't fell head over heels for Gilbert, maybe things would have been differently. If he hadn't interrupted their relationship, his friend wouldn't have been standing on his doorstep with a blank expression on his face and an eerie tone in his voice. Elizaveta was his friend, too, and he had been the one to ruin the happiness that she deserved.

"Why the fuck did you tell her? It was supposed to be a regretful, dark secret between us! No one else was supposed to know! How could you do something so... so stupid!" Lovino yelled. All of his efforts to hide his true feelings had been wasted. He even went so far as to end their friendship, and now the bastard had to go and do this? What the hell!

"I couldn't lie to her anymore, alright? The guilt was too much, and she deserves better, much better." Gilbert shrugged and picked up the suitcase. He finally looked Lovino in the eyes, whose were slightly teary. "I just thought I'd tell you, I actually have no idea why. Anyway, I'm going to stay with my brother for awhile, I guess. She didn't kick me out like I predicted she would, but there's no point in being there, either."

"Wait!" Lovino said, before Gilbert turned to walk away. He didn't know if what he was going to say next was a good idea or not, but dammit he needed to take at least some of the responsibility, right? After all, it seriously had been his fault, at least that's what he felt.

"Um… he's not there. Feli and the others are doing a project at Kiku's so they won't be back until sometime tomorrow. But, even after that, they'll be busy with exams so… even your bastard brother doesn't need to deal with anything else right now!" Lovino nervously scratched his head and sighed to gather his words, before they came out as complete nonsense.

"So… you should stay here until then. I wouldn't mind, and Feli obviously wouldn't, either."

Gilbert stared at Lovino as if he couldn't believe a word that had just been said. Well, he seriously couldn't since he thought Lovino had hated him. He still didn't know why their friendship had suddenly been ended, and all of the phone calls and texts he sent were completely ignored. He figured that he at least deserved a logical explanation of why his awesomeness was unwanted, although he felt the opposite of awesome right now.

"But, why? I thought we weren't friends anymore, even though I didn't do shit wrong and you never explained anything, either."

He had a point there, and Lovino could feel the words stabbing his throat. Of course he shouldn't just expect Gilbert to accept his offer so suddenly, especially after what he had said the few days before and the fact that he'd been ignoring all contact. How could he explain, though? There was no way he was ready to admit his feelings, and doing so at a time like this was completely idiotic. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to confess, but for now he would simply apologize.

"I didn't mean what I had said before. Well, I did at the time, but not anymore! It was stupid, and I shouldn't have made that shitty decision. I mean, there's… no way I could ever stop being around you. Because well, it's impossible not to want to be with you and— yeah."

Gilbert only took in half of that poor explanation. Things just weren't making sense anymore.

"If you didn't mean it, why did you say it? Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"No! You didn't do anything, dammit! It was me— I did things, and well… I can't explain it to you, not now. Maybe one day I will be able to but, I'm not ready yet. So… just know that I want to be friends again! If you'd let me, that is."

Lovino stepped aside to welcome him in, hoping he had understood and accepted it. He felt relieved when Gilbert finally nodded and picked up his suitcase, walking through the door without saying a word. Lovino made him sit on the couch, and walked into the kitchen to get his guest a drink. He peeked around the corner every once in awhile, watching as Gilbert only sat still and stayed completely silent the entire time. The expression from before never left his face, which made Lovino feel as if he was shrinking from the inside out.

Lovino frowned as he poured the small glass of lemonade. Never before had he seen Gilbert so upset about something. At least when he was usually upset, he'd let out some steam before going back to normal. Now, he was hardly even showing much emotion as he patiently waited there in the living room. Lovino had always imagined Gilbert would be the type to celebrate when he was done with a relationship, and go back to one night stands with random people once in awhile. He never once thought that Gilbert was in fact just an average person with feelings, even though he could be inconsiderate to the feelings of others.

"So… where did she go?" he asked, when he walked back into the room and handed Gilbert the glass before sitting on the couch; not too close but not far enough to make the awkward feelings inside of him obvious.

"Probably to Belle's place or… Roderich's. That's where she usually goes whenever we're having problems with each other. Only this time she won't be coming back," Gilbert said, slowly sipping the lemonade. Even the sweetness of the delicious substance had no effect, so he set it down onto the table in front of them.

"Oh. Well, maybe I should go apologize to her! Then she'd understand it's not your—"

"Don't be stupid. What could you possibly say? 'Sorry I slept with your boyfriend, please take him back'? There's a reason I didn't tell her it was you, so don't go screwing things up even more."

"But it wasn't simply like that, idiot! Just tell her the truth, we were drunk and things… got out of hand!"

"Anything I say now would just seem like an excuse. Drunk or not, it happened. And that's not the only reason we broke up, we've been having even bigger problems for almost a year now and it's gotten worse these past handful of months." Gilbert closed his eyes and leaned back into soft cushions, exhausted.

"Even if one day she were to forgive me for all I've done, that's all that would happen and we would move on. We're just not… in love with each other anymore. I can see that, and so can she. I care about her though, and I want her to be happy so it has to be this way."

Lovino really had no idea what to say next. He knew that no matter what he could possibly come up with, it wouldn't change anything. He still wanted to take at least some of the responsibility to ease Gilbert's pain, but how? Besides, he knew the one who needed help most was Elizaveta. He felt guilty beyond belief and torn between the two. Perhaps after the both of them calmed down a bit, they could meet up and formally talk it out. After all, ending a relationship in such a negative way was never healthy. So, Lovino decided to do his best and keep Gilbert company until he was ready to face the situation directly.

"You can use the guest bedroom on the second floor, stay as long as you wish. You know where everything is so… help yourself with whatever. I need to get to bed soon, meeting a client tomorrow."

Lovino quickly stood up from the couch and made his way upstairs after making sure Gilbert understood. He would've stayed and tried to be supportive, or at least eased the loneliness that spread throughout the room, but his head was still throbbing with worries and unknown feelings. He wasn't very skilled when it came to cheering people up or making them feel grateful to have his help, so it was unbelievably awkward; almost as awkward as the day in Antonio's house when they had met up after their affair.

"Maybe tomorrow will be different," Lovino said to himself, climbing into his bed and shutting his weary eyes.

Elizaveta awoken in a bed that was very much softer than her own. She rubbed her red puffy eyes and looked around, observing a room that wasn't hers, either. Suddenly, she felt her stomach quake when her thoughts reminded her of how she had gotten there and why she was there in the first place.

After the horrible truth that Gilbert had revealed, she'd been so angry that she only cried until she decided enough was enough. She had grabbed a few things, which was the first things she could get her hands on, and left the house. It was only now that she realized she didn't grabbed anything that she actually needed. Thus, was the reason she was wearing one of Roderich's nightshirts because she had no extra clothing of her own.

It felt a little strange, staying in another man's house. At first she had planned to ask her friend Belle if she could stay with her for a short while, at least until she decided what she would do. But then she remembered that her friend was out of town, on the trip that she was supposed to go on with Gilbert. On the spur of the moment, she ended up at Roderich's house, silently sobbing in his arms. It put her a little at ease when he insisted that she stay in one of his guest bedrooms for as long as she liked.

Elizaveta arose from the bed, and was more than glad when she saw she had at least packed her toothbrush and hairbrush. There was no way in hell she'd walk around in someone else's home without looking and smelling presentable, so she hopped into the shower down the hall and changed back into her own clothes. Perhaps she'd return home sometime today to pack the things she really needed, but if Gilbert was there she wouldn't know what to do.

She slowly walked down the stairs, gazing at all of the lavish pieces of artwork on the walls and the sculptures on the ground between them. Roderich had always kept such unique decorations throughout his home, and he had such great taste, not to mention his musical talent. That was one of the things she liked most about him, other than his gentlemanly behavior and kindness.

"Ah, good morning, Eliza." Roderich politely greeted her when she walked into dining room, urging her to sit down and enjoy the delicious breakfast that was already made.

They idly chatted while he patiently waited for her to finish the warm meal. He was glad to see that she had calmed down since the night before, and she even smiled somewhat from his words of kindness. She hadn't told him exactly what happened to her, but he knew it was probably the usual. Something told him that it was much worse this time, because she usually would have been laughing by now, thanking him for the hospitality and going back to her own home to make up with Gilbert.

"How do you feel now? A little better than last night, I hope?" he said, as they casually drank green tea together.

"Oh, I'm fine. Thanks to you, I feel much better than before," Elizaveta answered. But, he could tell she was still hurting a lot.

"I won't pester you about it if you'd rather not tell me. But, is there anything I could do to help?"

She slowly shook her head and smiled faintly towards him. "No, no this is the end. I saw it coming long ago and ignored it, so I won't waste my time too much on the subject. And, you've helped me a lot through everything, no matter what it was. I wish to do the same for you one day!"

"I'm really sorry to hear that… and, it was only natural that I'd help someone I care deeply for. Still, I feel as if I could do more to help you now, since you need it most. Please, don't hesitate to ask, alright?" Roderich smiled sweetly, causing her heart to jump all over the place in her chest.

Elizaveta smiled brightly this time and nodded. "Thank you, Roderich, for everything."

Lovino was sort of glad to have Gilbert staying with them for a few days. He had been such an emotional wreck after he called off their friendship, which had probably been the stupidest move he had ever made in his entire life. There were a few times when they were kids when he wished Gilbert would simply fall down a well, but he never actually really meant them. Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis had been apart of his life ever since he could remember, and he didn't want that to change anytime soon.

Right now, however, was a totally different matter.

"Gilbert! Get your ass out of the damn bathroom already, you're going to make me late!" Lovino yelled, repeatedly turning his head around to glance at the clock. Every second counted, but he couldn't finish getting ready until the bastard stepped out of the door. He cursed under his breath, wondering why the hell Gilbert didn't just use the bathroom in the hallway, instead of the one in Lovino's bedroom. If he ended up late because of this idiot, then he swore to himself that he'd kick Gilbert out of the house in less than a second.

Finally, the water inside of the shower was turned off. Lovino impatiently tapped his foot outside of the door as Gilbert dried himself off, taking his sweet time and whistling happily as if Lovino wasn't even waiting for him to get the hell out of there. When he finally opened the door, he stood there and smiled at the grumpy face before him.

"Your showerhead is fucking godly, it was too relaxing to just rush myself," he said, casually drying his wet hair with another towel.

"Fuck, why didn't you use the one in the hallway bathroom? If I'm late, your ass is outta here!"

"That one was taking forever to heat up, and I thought you were already downstairs so I took the opportunity."

Lovino growled, and was about to say something else when he suddenly smelt something sweet. It was almost too sweet, and was coming from Gilbert's direction, who was still slowly wiping his wet head. Finally Lovino recognized this hypnotizing scent to be the shampoo that Feliciano had bought a couple weeks before. Damn that idiot for mistakenly buying such a feminine bottle of shampoo, it was a mixture of strawberries and peaches, some shit like that. Whatever it was, it mixed in greatly with Gilbert's natural scent.

"What? Like what ya see?" Gilbert teased, when he noticed Lovino's eyes intensely scanning his entire body.

Lovino's face turned scarlet since he hadn't even noticed that he'd been doing it all along. "W-what? Fuck you!"

"Right now? That's pretty blunt of you, don't ya think?" he continued to tease, and laugh obnoxiously.

As if he couldn't take it anymore, Lovino's brain totally cracked. He mercilessly grabbed hold of Gilbert's wrist and swung him around, tossing him onto the big bed. Before he could even move, Lovino's body was already on top of him, removing the thin towel from around his waist. Gilbert's heart jumped as Lovino's tongue glided across his moist neck, collecting the leftover droplets of water from the previous shower.

"If you put it that way, then yes. Right now, bastard. Now stop squirming, or this will hurt more than it has to."

Lovino suddenly yelped as his curl was pulled with great force. "What the hell was that for!"

"I had no choice, you suddenly blanked out! And, I was just joking, I'll move out of your way right now." Gilbert quickly did as he said he would and walked towards the door that led to the hallway.

Damn, it had been another fantasy after all. Lovino sighed and put a hand to his head in frustration. He seriously needed to see a psychiatrist if he could simply jump between fantasy and reality without even realizing it. He supposed he would stop reading and watching anything that had to do with romance for awhile.

"Are you… okay? You didn't have a blackout, did you?" Gilbert asked, looking back at Lovino from the doorway.

"Nope! I'm fine, so get your ass out of here and put on some fucking clothes before you catch a damn cold." Lovino quickly moved into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and locking it. He could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he moved towards the sink. It didn't help at all that there was still so much steam in there, and it smelled exactly like Gilbert did. He stopped himself with all the dignity that he had, to not deeply inhale that wonderful aroma.

It really was nice to have Gilbert over, but no matter how much he joked around and said absurd things, Lovino knew he was only trying to hide his true emotions. He had went to sleep shortly after Lovino had the night before, so that was another reason to believe he wasn't alright. After all, Gilbert usually went to bed in the morning, not at night. But, Lovino decided not to annoy him about it, because Gilbert was tough and would eventually be back to normal.

When he rushed to finish up in the bathroom, Lovino came out to find Gilbert sitting on the edge of his bed. Seems like no matter what he did, that guy was always nearby whether he liked it or not. Right now, he wasn't really like the annoying fly that he usually was, he was more like a clingy puppy. Normally, Lovino would have secretly found this cute, but he felt strange that Gilbert hadn't been out of his sight ever since he woke up earlier that morning.

"What are you still doing in here? Don't you have like, work to do today?" Lovino asked, as he quickly walked towards the closet to retrieve his favorite business tie.

"Nah, we've finally finished the development for this big project so there's nothing to do for a short while."

"You mean you don't just sit on your ass and play games all day? I thought that was what your job consisted of," he scoffed, and shook his head in disbelief.

"No way! Don't you know anything? I've helped developed half of the awesome games people play nowadays! Only boring, old miserable people wouldn't know that." Gilbert snickered and quickly stood up from the bed to move across the room. He grabbed the tie from Lovino's hands and wrapped it around his neck for him.

"Old miserable people, huh? Or maybe just people who don't have time to play childish games— what are you doing?" Lovino blushed as Gilbert moved extremely close so suddenly, steadily tying the tie around his neck.

"Helping you out. These things are like fucking rubix cubes."

Gilbert slowly did each step in tying it, pausing a couple times to think about what came next. Lovino almost couldn't believe how long it was taking him to do something so unimaginably simple, something he figured all grown men knew by heart. Then he remembered how much Gilbert hated wearing ties and anything even moderately formal. But damn, that graceful aroma from before still came from his body even though he was wearing an old black t-shirt with a skull on it, and a pair of raggedy skinny jeans.

"Got it! Now you look like an awesome business man with no sense of humor," he teased, forcefully turning Lovino around so that he could observe himself in the mirror. It was a horribly done, and looked more like a big blob instead of a neat knot. Lovino was surprised the idiot didn't accidentally entangle his own fingers in it.

"You call this a knot? I'd hate to see you tie your own damn shoes." Lovino rolled his eyes and quickly undid the catastrophic job. He glanced at his watch and almost screeched when he saw how much time had passed since he came from the bathroom. It only took him a handful of seconds to redo the tie himself.

"Whatever, I say it was awesome the way I did it. But, you should teach me how to do it later."

"Maybe, now come on, I need to tell you the rules before I leave."

Lovino led him downstairs and into the kitchen. If he was going to leave Gilbert alone in his house for a few hours, then the best thing to do would be to lay down some rules, since he didn't want to come home to a pile of rubble. He didn't care how messy Gilbert let his own house get, but there was no way he'd let him do that here.

"First thing's first," Lovino started, looking around the kitchen. "If you get hungry, don't pull everything out of the fridge and start cooking up some monstrosity. No, in fact, don't cook at all. There is leftover lasagna in there and a TV dinner that you can heat up in the microwave in a couple minutes."

"What if it's nasty? I only like the ones with the mashed potatoes and—"

"Well then don't eat it. You're not wasting our damn food, even if it is Feli's stupid packaged crap that he never even uses. There's also chips and stuff in the cabinet, so you can get full off those," Lovino said, and dragged him into the living room by his arm.

"Next, don't eat on the couch. Only I can do that, because I don't make a mess like some damn baby. We have a dining room table for a reason, so eat there when it's time."

"I know all this stuff, Lovi. I've been here a gazillion times! And you're always making up a new rule that doesn't even make sense."

"Well excuse me for trying to keep my house clean. Oh and, don't go into our rooms. If you get bored of staying down here, go up to the guestroom and do whatever. Just do not go into my fucking room without my permission. Got it?" Lovino gave him a threatening glare before retreating to the front door.

"Yeah, whatever. Oh, where'd your computer go? I need to update my blog!"

Lovino frowned as he put on his shoes. "Seriously?"

"Hey, you don't know how hard it is to manage one of the best blogs in the world."

"Feli took our usual computer, he uses it for his college crap now. My laptop is on the coffee table, don't even think about drinking near it. Now bye, I'm already about to be late." Lovino shuffled to get his jacket on and exited out the front door without looking back.

"This sucks." Gilbert sighed and plopped down onto the couch. He was grateful that Lovino allowed him to stay there for however long he needed, but he was dreadfully lonely. He'd even managed to distract Lovino long enough, hoping he would be late for his meeting so that it would be canceled. Then they could've spent the entire day together, and maybe his mood would have brightened.

He almost felt pathetic for being so clingy to Lovino, but for some reason he couldn't help but feel that way. He told himself the night before, that he would awaken the next day and pretend to be lively again so that he wouldn't burden Lovino with the anxiety that he truly felt. But his mind kept reverting back to the events that led up to the reason he was staying there now. He wondered how Elizaveta was doing, and if she would ever want anything to do with him again. She was a good friend, but now she probably hated his guts to death.

Stressing so much over a break-up was so not awesome, and he was used to things like this! He had no reason to feel like crying, after all, he and Lovino were friends again so that was amazing in itself. That was another thing that wouldn't leave his mind, the fact that they had actually stopped being friends for three whole days. It must've been one of Lovino's random mood swings, so there was nothing to worry about anymore.

Feeling a little confident, Gilbert turned on the TV to leisurely watch some of his favorite shows. He actually liked being here more than his own place, and going back there now would only remind him of how much of a shitty boyfriend he'd been for a long time. If only he'd actually tried to fix things when they had first began to mess up, maybe then— nope! There was no time to think about such things, he had to think positive! Perhaps this whole thing can serve as a life lesson, an experience which he will now learn from his mistakes and improve to become even more awesome, if that's possible.

Even so, his shows suddenly seemed dull now, so he turned off the machine and sat up. As much as he liked sitting around, it was not only lonesome but boring, too. Unlike his place, Lovino and Feliciano didn't have video games or consoles lying about, so there was nothing to do. Painting wasn't his style, and it was probably boring as hell so he wouldn't even attempt. His curiosity sparked when he remembered Lovino's warning.

"What do you have in your room that's so private?" he said to himself, glancing back towards the stairs.

There's no way Lovino would ever find out if he went snooping around, and a treasure hunt sounded like fun, right about now. But as much as he wanted to, he knew it was wrong to invade someone's privacy, especially when that person is kindly letting him stay in their house. He shrugged and decided to take the offer on using the laptop.

"Great, I lost a follower. Well, fuck you, too." Gilbert cursed at the unawesome soul when he opened the web browser and went onto his blog. At least the loud, kickass music on his webpage took away some of the anger and despair. He jammed to it for awhile before deciding he was literally bored as fuck.

Well, Lovino did say he couldn't go into their rooms. But, he never said that he couldn't snoop around the files in the laptop. Smirking to himself, Gilbert decided to open the documents folder. Being the 'mastermind' and computer genius that he was, he knew how to find even the most deeply hidden files on any computer. He was disappointed when he saw the only files Lovino had were mp3 files, a few recipes, something about their family business, and information about his stock shares.

"He really is an old man." Gilbert sighed and closed the uninteresting folder. He was about to turn the entire thing off and find something else to do, when he decided to look at some of the pictures.

Gilbert was shocked to see the dozens and dozens of pictures in different folders that Lovino had collected. Some were from when they were as young as ten years old, and others were taken only about a year ago. He told me that he deleted these, Gilbert thought to himself, scrolling through all of their happy memories together. It seems that Lovino really did cherish all those moments, even though he pretended to be annoyed throughout the entire time they happened.

The different photos of he and Elizaveta were almost heart wrenching. Gilbert could feel his eyes starting to fill with tears as he gazed at the folder which contained their high school memories. He had no idea some of them had even been taken, and couldn't remember what grade they were in, but the smile on her face was breathtaking. It made him regret all of those times he had turned that smile into a frown.

"Shit, got something in my eyes," he said, wiping away the sorrowful tears.

It was starting to get painful, looking at all these photos of his long-time friends who had now all gone off into the world to fulfill their dreams, or didn't have time for him anymore. At least his three best friends were still by his side, though. It made him feel a little better to see a few group photos where Lovino was actually smiling, probably the only few out of the hundreds. He especially loved the ones of just Lovino and himself, in which he usually had an arm wrapped tightly around the Italian.

Lovino was probably the only one that always told things to him like it was. If he didn't like something that was done, he'd always tell it straight to Gilbert's face whether it was harsh or not. Gilbert really loved that about him, he got straight to the point of things and didn't sugarcoat any of it. Not that he'd be able to with his foul mouth, even if he tried.

And, Lovino had always done things for him, even if he complained the entire time, or if he was having problems of his own. He actually seemed to be having a problem right now, even though he wouldn't tell Gilbert about it. Whatever it was, he'd come out with it in due time, so Gilbert would definitely be there to support him with everything he needed.

"I know, I'll make him something in return! It'll be so awesome, he wouldn't know what to do."

Gilbert turned off the laptop and quickly walked into the kitchen. Even though Lovino had told him not to cook, he didn't say he couldn't invent something awesome. Cooking and inventing the best things ever aren't the same, so who cares! He pulled out all those random ingredients lying on the shelves in the fridge, and went to work.

Lovino was so glad when the meeting with his new client was finally over, and what a bitchy client they were. Oh well, money is money, and he likes money so it didn't matter. He quickly drove home, worried that he'd wish he was blind when he spotted the catastrophe when he had arrived. Although, when he actually did arrive, everything on the outside seemed perfectly normal. Hopefully, the inside would be the safe way as it was when he left it.

"Lovi, welcome home!" Gilbert exclaimed, hugging him and he walked into the living room.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lovino immediately put a hand to his forehead to make sure he hadn't suddenly caught the flu or something, since his behavior was suddenly so weird.

"I'm not sick, don't worry," he chuckled, and jokingly put a hand to Lovino's forehead.

"I wasn't worried… hey, what's that smell?" Lovino looked around the room to find the source. It didn't smell like fire or anything burnt, so that was good. Surprisingly, it actually smelled pretty good, and he was hungry since he was too worried to stop and pick up anything.

"I made you lunch. You're gonna love it! It's so fucking awesome, tasted it myself." Gilbert smiled and removed Lovino's jacket, then took the briefcase from his hands.

"You— you did what? Dammit, I thought I told you the rules!"

"Relax, geez. Just because I prefer not to cook, doesn't mean I can't. Now c'mon, before it gets cold!"

Gilbert practically dragged Lovino into the dining room and shoved him into a chair. For some reason, the candles in the middle of the table were lit, and his favorite bottle of wine was standing by one of his fancy glasses. He watched as Gilbert dimmed the lights and went into the kitchen to retrieve the plate. When he brought it back, Lovino was very surprised to see a steaming plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

"You… made this?" he asked, and glanced up at Gilbert who was smiling nervously.

"Hell yeah I did, never underestimate my awesome skills. It took longer than I thought it would, and so I finished just before you got here. Perfect timing, too!" he said, and sat down in the chair next to Lovino. "Now, try it! Go on, it's good."

"Alright, damn. Here… goes nothing."

Looks can be deceiving, so Lovino prayed that this dish wouldn't kill him in the first bite. When he finally shoved a small fork full into his mouth, however, he was completely amazed. It was actually very delicious, a little salty, but nonetheless delicious. He was so absorbed in its wonderful taste, and he would've definitely believed it was made in an actual Italian restaurant, if not for the pile of dishes in the sink. Those would take a little while to clean, but the two of them would make the process go faster.

"So? How is it?" Gilbert demanded an answer as he watched Lovino swallow his third fork full.

"It's pretty good. Not how I'd make it, but still good," he answered, blushing as he scarfed down some more.

"That's it? C'mon, you know it's awesome. I did exactly as the damn book said!" Gilbert frowned, unsatisfied with that shitty answer.

"Fine, alright? It's very delicious, now stop talking for at least two minutes! I'm starving."

Gilbert continued to watch, very happy with that response. He poured Lovino a glass of red wine and stared as he quickly gulped it down. His chest was suddenly filled with bittersweet feelings, as he looked down at the table. It sort of reminded him of the first time he had served Elizaveta a meal so long ago, and she had responded the same way Lovino just did.

"I'm surprised you managed to make it so wonderfully, even though you don't even eat this kind of food. I guess when you put that little brain of yours to work, you get pretty good results, huh?" Lovino snorted, and looked to his side at Gilbert. He was completely shocked when he saw a tear fall from those red eyes that were gleaming only a few minutes before.

"What the hell? Why are you crying? I said it was good!"

"I'm not crying! This is just… well, I'm glad you like the food. I told you it was awesome," Gilbert chuckled slightly and wiped the tears from his eyes, but they continued to leak out, one after another.

Lovino decided not to go against his words, and quickly finished the last bit of the noodles. Gilbert still hadn't stopped crying, though, and Lovino really didn't want to see his table cloth soaked in tears. It's said that at times, it's good to comfort a friend who is crying. Other times, however, if a friend is trying to hide those tears, then one should pretend that they don't see them. Lovino didn't know which one he should choose, and it was starting to frustrate him to see someone like Gilbert silently crying, so he gently placed a hand onto Gilbert's back and slowly rubbed it.

"I guess even someone as awesome as I am, can't do something as simple as making a single person happy," Gilbert said, as he attempted to wipe his tears again. This time, no more flowed out, which made Lovino feel relieved; but he continued to rub Gilbert's back just in case.

"That's not true, god dammit. I… felt really happy as I was eating this food! See, I even finished all of it."

"It's ironic, how I can make you happy simply by making food I've never even made before. Yet, I couldn't even keep my own girlfriend happy." Gilbert chuckled again and shrugged, as if he had completely given everything up.

"That's not true, either! I've watched the two of you, for a very long time now… and, you looked so damn happy together, it even made me feel envious at times! You and her were the best of friends, even though you always bickered and debated on things, complete nonsensical things. To be honest, I'm actually a bit surprised that it lasted as long as it did, so that shows it must've really meant something."

"I guess… but, I still was a shitty boyfriend."

Lovino snorted and wrapped his arm around Gilbert's shoulder. "Now that part I agree on."

"Hey! You were supposed to say something nice again," Gilbert pouted, as he rested his head on Lovino's shoulder.

"I'm only telling the truth. You need to learn to be considerate of other people's feelings. It may sound like nagging or 'blah blah' to you, but it's always important to listen to what your partner is saying, no matter what. Especially if you want them to listen to you, then you better pay attention."

"Yeah… I never was really good at that. I guess it's better to start now than never. What else is there?"

"Well, there are some things that is alright to say to your friends, but not to your partner. If you do it the first time and they don't like it, then you obviously shouldn't do it again. Remember, everyone is different, so you'll have to ask them instead of assuming they're okay with it just because you are."

"That actually makes sense. Wow, Lovi… you know so much even though you haven't dated anyone in awhile." Gilbert laughed and cuddled just a bit closer.

"Watch it," he growled, and suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Aw, I was just getting comfortable," Gilbert whined, when Lovino got up to answer it.

He supposed that maybe what he needed was to get some of those awesome tears out. After all, his tears are always manly and necessary, and he was glad to have Lovino by his side once again to support him. In fact, Lovino was probably the only person Gilbert was comfortable with crying in front of. Yeah, he was definitely the only person.

"Hey, Gilly!" a cheerful and familiar voice called out.

Gilbert quickly turned around in his chair to see both Antonio and Francis walking into the room. His smile grew even brighter as he stood up from the chair to greet his other two best friends. It had been a little while since the four of them hung out, but it still felt like forever ago.

"You look quite comfortable here already," Francis said, and squeezed Gilbert into a tight hug.

"How did you guys know I was here? How did they know?" Gilbert excitedly asked, looking from their faces to Lovino's.

"I invited them over. I thought… it would be good if you hung out with all of yours friends, right about now." Lovino scratched his head embarrassingly and shrugged as the other two pretty much fondled over Gilbert.

"We should go out! The four of us need some time alone," Antonio suggested.

"You mean like, drinking?" Francis asked. He was totally up for another time at the club.

"Nah, Lovi's pretty tired right now, he had lots of business to take care of today. How about we just chill out here? Oh! We should show them the old tree house!" Gilbert was now prancing around like a small child. "Is that alright with you, Lovi?"

"Yeah, whatever. It's far better than getting wasted and listening to loud ass music."

Gilbert smiled and suddenly caught Lovino in a big hug, which made him all flustered. "Thanks, Lovino."

A/N: Gilbert was on Tumblr lol. Anyways sorry updates have been slower, I just can't write as fast as I usually do, for some reason..