The rest of the weekend flashed past. Well, Antonio had spent at least half of it asleep, after all. He'd been reading up on techniques for getting to sleep faster. Calm music, no caffeine, no sugar, darkened rooms later in the day. It was all helping, a bit at a time. He'd fallen asleep really fast last night.

The time he'd been awake for had been spent in a much more positive frame of mind, too. He'd felt so much happier; he'd gotten a lot more done than he often would. But it was hard to put a word on how he felt overall. Well, conflicted sometimes worked. He was positive that it was definitely love, that was certain, and he'd never felt this kind of connection with someone before but...it was undeniably strange. Almost like...a make-believe boyfriend. If it wasn't for the clarity of the memories, and that he'd woken up in different clothes on Saturday, he'd think it was all his imagination. A lot of the time it felt too brilliant to be real, after all.

But there also was the hard-to-avoid fact that Lovino was dead, and existing in a world that could only be reached through dreams. A world he knew next-to-nothing about.

He would like to keep going there, though. It was a truly breathtaking place, after all. And if you added Lovino into that equation... It was a no-brainer.

Occasionally he wondered if there was a way to get there faster, more often. His body was unlikely to want to sleep more than it needed too. He frowned slightly. Perhaps sleeping pills would be an option. Not for everyday use, of course, but for when he really couldn't sleep. It wasn't fair on Lovino, after all, if he was sad just because Antonio's mind wouldn't shut itself down for ages.

No. There wasn't a need for that. Things were fine as they were – he had other stuff to be doing as well. He didn't need to spend all of his time somewhere else.

Now he needed to get going. Slinging his bag over one shoulder, Antonio headed out to school, whistling the Monday morning in for the first time in a long while.

OOOoooOOO

Lovino had quickly realised where Antonio would appear each evening, and would be waiting there on the hilltop by the time he arrived, usually with tomatoes and an flippant remark. Antonio just laughed, gave him a hug, which he'd weakly protest at, and then they'd decide on what to do that day. Or night; Antonio wasn't quite sure what to call it yet.

Most of Saturday and Sunday had been devoted to the second half of a tour, going out further than the house and the town. Lovino had produced a car from seemingly nowhere – a flash red Ferrari – and driven Antonio around the place. The Italian's driving was atrocious, and there were several points where Antonio had questioned what would happen were he to die here, but once he'd gotten used to the sharp, high-speed winds, he really was beginning to appreciate the place as a whole. It wasn't as big as he had originally expected, but that was due to a combination of Lovino not liking overly big places, and also his penchant for being lazy.

Monday night was being spent in the tomato fields, just taking care of the plants, laughing. It was quiet, calm, wonderful.

The air was still fresh and warm, a perfect Italian summer's day, and scented with the delicious aroma of the tomato plants surrounding the pair. Both were dressed in a similar outfit to how Antonio had found Lovino that first day, except that Antonio's shirt was a light shade of blue as opposed to Lovino's white, slightly damp with sweat from the several hours they'd already spent working in the sun.

Antonio ran a hand through his messy brown curls and let out a long breath. "Hey, Lovi. You wanna take a break? I wouldn't mind getting out of the sun for five or ten minutes. I know you won't burn, but I don't know if I will or not. I'd rather not wake up looking like a lobster."

"Get a hat then, bastard," was Lovino's prompt response from the depths of the tomatoes. He was currently out of Antonio's sight, although the intermittent rustling of disturbed leaves easily gave away his presence.

Antonio laughed. "Lovi! You're the one who's able to produce hats, not me!"

"Whatever. You go sit then, I'll be there in a sec." There was a noticeable increase in rustling for a second, then Lovino's head appeared, followed by a basket of tomatoes. He looked at Antonio. "Well, go on then."

With another laugh, Antonio looked away and headed across the field, settling down a few feet up the hill beneath a tree. The shade was cool and refreshing, like a lemon slice in an iced drink, and Antonio closed his eyes for a moment in bliss. After a second Lovino joined him, brushing odd plant fronds off of his tan shorts. He knocked back his hat and rested against the tree.

"Those tomatoes are lucky they're so delicious," Lovino muttered. "If they weren't, I wouldn't bother putting in this fuckload of work for them."

"You do know you don't have to, right?" Antonio asked. "This is your world, you could just produce the tomatoes from out of the air."

Lovino gave him a sharp look. "Shut. Up. Bastard." Antonio was momentarily offended, then realised what Lovino's expression really meant; he actually did like the work, the dedication that went into producing the tomatoes which made them taste that much better. And apparently he also liked complaining about the work.

A short slurping noise caught Antonio's attention and he turned to see Lovino with a glass of ice-cold lemonade in one hand. "Hey, Lovi, no fair! Where's mine?"

Lovino sucked another mouthful up the straw. "Didn't ask for one."

"Can I have one?"

"Nope," Lovino smirked and tucked his free hand behind his head.

"Aw, Lovi! Please?" Antonio tried giving Lovino the sweet pleading eyes, but it appeared that Lovino was temporarily immune to the look.

"Tough, bastard. Don't see why I should, anyway."

Antonio smiled and leant closer, so their faces were only inches apart. " Because I asked my beautiful and amazing Lovi that he should be so kind as to do so." Lovino's hazel eyes were wide in surprise, and a light blush had flared up across his face.

"B-bastard..." he stuttered. Antonio gently planted a short kiss on his lips and brought a hand up to cup the Italian's face.

"So cute, Lovi~," he murmured, kissing Lovino again, this time much deeper and for longer. Antonio slid an arm around Lovino's back, and a second later felt Lovino's hands clasped around the back of his neck as the two pressed closer.

When they broke apart again, Lovino really did bear a resemblance to the pair's favourite food. "Damn you. You made me drop my stupid drink."

Antonio laughed. "I love you too, Lovi."

"Stupid jerk. Here's your damn lemonade so you can stop molesting me now." He shoved a glassful of clear liquid into Antonio's hands and shuffled a foot further away, glaring into his lap with his face obscured beneath his chocolate-brown locks. His own drink had reappeared next to him, complete with refill.

The wind whistled gently through the field of laden plants as the two sat sipping their drinks in tranquil silence. The lemonade was delicious; tangy and refreshing like a homemade style, but with just enough carbonated bubbles to give it an edge. Before he knew it, Antonio's glass was empty, and it promptly vanished from his hands. Antonio smiled to himself. No waste, no litter. Efficient place.

"They put up your memorial tomorrow, Francis told me," Antonio said after a while. "At the school. It's going to be next to the field."

Lovino was quiet for a moment, his eyes unsure. "Hmm." He coughed. "So they're finally putting up a statue to me, are they? 'Bout damn time."

Antonio laughed again. "Not quite a statue, unfortunately. I don't think the school could afford that. It's a tree, a laurel, I think, and a little memorial plaque with a message that Feliciano wrote."

As had been the situation the day before, Lovino grew silent again at the mention of his brother. Antonio shifted closer and slipped an arm around his shoulders.

"You miss him, don't you, Lovi?" he said quietly.

"No. Of course not. Shut up. Hate you." Lovino shifted slightly, blinking fast.

Antonio now felt slightly guilty for bringing the topic up. "Lo siento, Lovi. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"Not upset," Lovino choked, his voice cracking, and Antonio felt his heart crack along with it. He swiftly pulled the younger into a close hug and gently stroked his hair. Lovino gave a short growl and tried pushing away, but quickly gave up his facade and buried his face in the crook between Antonio's neck and shoulder.

Slowly, the Italian's shoulders stopped trembling as Antonio held him close, and he eventually, to Antonio's disappointment, pulled away and shifted back to his previous position against the tree. Antonio gave him a concerned smile and settled next to him, not wishing to break the silence.

Content with just watching the world.

A quiet voice floated through the air a few minutes later. "Is Feliciano ok?" It was a tentative question, almost as if Lovino was afraid of it, or perhaps its answer.

Antonio thought for a moment, debating the right thing to say, as to tell the truth, but not upset Lovino. "Well, he's been undeniably distraught following, you know, your death. You were the only family he had left, after all, and he really misses you. Even after this time its hard to get him to smile, but he's slowly coming to terms with it, I think. Ludwig's been taking really good care of him."

Lovino grunted disapprovingly. "Potato bastard."

Antonio laughed. "I know you think that, Lovi, but he's not really a bad guy. He really cares for your brother, after all."

Another dismissive grunt. "Whatever. You just tell him that if he hurts Feli, I'll kick his ass so hard into next week he'll be waking up in November."

"I can't tell him that, Lovi!" Antonio protested.

"Fine then," Lovino huffed. "You'll kick his ass into next week."

"Me? Why do I have to threaten him when he hasn't done anything?"

"'Cos I said so, damn it!" Lovino retorted immediately.

Antonio smiled suggestively. "Ah, of course. I can't go against what mi Lovinito requests of me," he breathed as he leant closer and pressed his lips to Lovino's.

"Bastard!"

Half fluff, half semi-angst-ish. Yay~. I was up 'till half one the other night writing this and chapter 10. I regret nothing.
Basically, this chap and maybe the next are the setup for my plot development. Watch this space.

Once again, thanks to everyone who's reviewed~ :)