AN: Hello everyone! So sorry that this chapter is so late...I had a lot of complications with my laptop and the document got deleted and then I lost all motivation to do this...but no worries, for now it is done!

I hope you enjoy the ending to my fic! This is my first time writing something that isn't a oneshot so it was interesting for me to do this~

Enjoy!

Driving to Antonio's home, the car was filled with silence. Silent all except for the resounding voice of Feliciano's advice in his head.

What should he do? What should he say? How should he say it?

He didn't know the answers to those questions yet, but he knew they'd come to him when the time came, and if he thought about it hard enough.

He didn't dare to turn on the radio lest he be distracted from these thoughts.

A scowl formed on his face and he pushed his foot on the gas a bit harder, hoping to get to his destination quicker. He didn't like this tension; this feeling of not knowing what was to come.

"Dammit…" he mumbled after a while, sure that he wouldn't be able to contain this nervousness much longer.

Why was he even nervous in the first place? It was just Antonio… carefree, goofy, perfect Antonio.

Alright, that was enough thinking about him for now. Sighing in frustration, Lovino focused his attention on the road again, deciding that turning on the radio may just be a good idea right now. Perhaps he could use a distraction from all of these thoughts after all…

Finding a station to listen to, he let himself get lost in the music, not thinking about anything for once that day.

A genuine smile graced his features and he felt alright, if only for a little while. He'd deal with the stress again when the time came.

That time came much too soon for Lovino's liking. Before he knew it, he found himself pulling into the driveway of Antonio's home.

Without second guessing himself…or at least trying not to, he got out of his car and headed towards the door. 'Is the bastard even home?' he wondered, noticing that none of the lights were on in the house. The old, rusted piece of shit Antonio called a car was there though…so he must be home. Unless he walked somewhere, which, knowing Antonio, he might have.

Reaching the doorstep, Lovino hesitated momentarily before raising his arm and knocking on the door.

Nothing.

Trying to stay patient, he knocked a few more times at the door before giving up on manners and grabbing the key he knew was under the doormat. Stifling a sigh, he put the key in the lock and turned it, opening the door and letting himself in.

"Toni…it's me, Lovino. I'm coming in, alright?" he called out as he entered the kitchen. Raising an eyebrow, he looked around. Everything seemed undisturbed.

Maybe he was still in bed? No. That wasn't like Antonio. He was always up at the crack of dawn if not earlier. That was one thing Lovino would never get about Antonio amongst many other things.

Moving on from the kitchen, Lovino wandered around the rest of the house, checking the living and family rooms, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, even the basement. But Antonio was nowhere to be found. "Where the hell is he?" he murmured, finally giving up and dropping onto a couch in living room. He sure hoped Antonio was alright…that he wasn't hurt or anything. From the last time they talked, it didn't seem like Antonio was much of himself lately. He just hoped he hadn't done anything rash.

The sound of a doorknob jiggling snapped Lovino into attention, and he turned his head towards the source of the noise. Sure enough, coming into the kitchen was Antonio carrying a few bags of groceries.

"Oi, Toni, why own a car if you don't use it? I mean, I know it's a piece of shit, but still…" he said, getting up from the couch and making his way into the kitchen. A weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, he kept on walking into the room until he was a few feet away from Antonio.

A stunned look on his face, Antonio put his bags down and stared at Lovino for a few seconds, not sure what to say to him.

"Why are you here?" he asked softly, finally gathering up the courage to speak.

"That's all you have to say to me? No 'Hola Lovi! How are you?' or some shit like you usually say?" Lovino said, a bad feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

"Lo siento…I just wasn't expecting you to show up her today…"

An awkward silence filled the room for a few moments as the two men looked everywhere but at each other.

"Um, yeah…" Lovino started, not able to take the silence any longer. He needed to get this over with.

"I-I just wanted to see if you were alright…the last time we talked you…you seemed like you weren't feeling too well..." he said, feeling less and less confident by the minute. Why couldn't he just tell him that he was worried about him and be over with it? Why was this so damn hard?

"I'm fine." Antonio replied, bending over and starting to take things from out of the various bags he had.

Going over to Antonio's side, Lovino began to help him, taking out and putting away items he knew the places of.

"Are you sure? I just wanted to make sure because-"

"I said I'm fine." Antonio snapped, anger eminent in his voice.

Eyes widening, Lovino paused mid step to stare at Antonio, shock coursing through him. Just what was his problem?

Turning to face him again, Lovino narrowed his eyes. "No, you're obviously not if you're snapping at me like that, dumbass." He retorted back, starting to get a little angry.

"Like you would care!" Antonio said, catching himself after he said it. Smacking a hand over his mouth, he recomposed himself and shook his head.

"At any rate, I'm busy…so I would appreciate it if you could just leave me alone…" and with that, he brushed past Lovino and made his way to the living room.

Stunned for a second, Lovino tried to process what just happened. None of this made sense! Just what had he done to make Antonio act so coldly to him?

Shaking his head, Lovino turned around and followed after Antonio, rolling his eyes when he opened the door to his backyard and exited, picking up his pace as he did so.

So, he wanted to get away from him that badly, huh?

Too bad Lovino wouldn't let him.

"Wait a minute…Toni! What the hell is wrong with you?" Lovino called out as Antonio picked up his pace yet again, starting to jog through his backyard.

"I told you, it's nothing!" Antonio said back, not caring to turn around and face Lovino when he talked.

"It has to be something! Otherwise you wouldn't be walking away from me so fast!"

"Just…I told you it's nothing, alright?"

"Stop lying to me you dumb bastard! I know something's wrong! Why won't you just tell me already dammit?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Getting more frustrated by the minute, Lovino let out an aggravated cry before running full speed at Antonio and knocking him over onto the ground. For once, his speed came in handy for more than just running away.

"Because I'm fucking worried about you…that's why…"

Dropping to the ground next to Antonio, Lovino heaved a sigh and stared at the ground.

There. He'd said it. So why didn't he feel any better about all of this?

"So…so just tell me already dammit. What's wrong?" he looked at Antonio pleadingly, embarrassed that was acting this way. But he couldn't help it. He hated seeing Antonio like this. Hated that Antonio couldn't even talk to him of all people.

"Alright. Fine. I'll tell you…" Antonio said, sitting up and brushing himself off a bit.

"Good." Lovino replied, feeling somewhat better now that Antonio was willing to cooperate with him.

"But first, I have to ask you a question Lovino."

A sound of annoyance exited Lovino's mouth and he glared at Antonio questioningly.

"And what the hell the hell do you want to know? I thought we were talking about you?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"It has to do with the situation…" Antonio mumbled in reply.

Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, Lovino nodded. "Alright dammit…ask away." He said, hoping that this really did have to do with the current situation.

Taking a deep breath, Antonio clenched his fists in his lap and looked at Lovino with sad eyes.

"Have you been avoiding me lately because you're tired of me?" he asked dejectedly, breaking eye contact as soon as he asked the question.

Shocked by the question and a little bit hurt by it too, Lovino stared at Antonio in disbelief.

"Avoiding you?" he asked, knowing that Feliciano had mentioned something like that back at the coffee shop. "Why the hell would I do that? And why would you even think that?"

Feeling a little distressed from the way Lovino was looking at him, and the tone he was speaking in, Antonio started to ramble.

"Well…you never talk to me anymore and I just thought that you were getting tired of me! I talked to your brother about it because I was getting worried, and I don't want you to be mad at me forever…if you are even mad at me at all. I know that I am not the smartest man in the world, or the best and I'm sorry if-"

Lovino had stopped listening at this point, not able to keep up with the fast talking Spaniard any longer.

All he needed to know was in the first few sentences he had said. So, Antonio thought that he was getting tired of him? Mad at him?

Lovino couldn't help but to laugh.

Stopping mid-sentence, Antonio looked up at Lovino, a confused look on his face. "W-why are you laughing?" he asked, not sure if this was a good or bad sign.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Lovino calmed down and took a deep breath.

Then he punched Antonio square in the jaw.

Letting out a startled cry, Antonio's hand flew to his jaw, and he moved away from Lovino. "Dios mio! What was that for?" he exclaimed, whimpering in pain.

"That's for being the stupidest bastard I've ever known!" Lovino yelled, hurt by Antonio's prior words.

"Why the fuck didn't you talk to me first, huh? I thought we were friends Antonio! Friends don't keep things from each other! Especially things like that!" he fumed, standing up and glaring down at the still whimpering man.

"I mean, come on! You know that if I were the one upset with you, you'd know it by now! So what gives?"

"Lovi I-"

"And another thing! I could never get tired of you! What the fuck is that even supposed to mean? I thought it would be painfully obvious by now that I feel the opposite way about you Toni! 'Tired of you'…where the fuck did you pull that shit from?" he practically screamed, trailing off at the end.

Rubbing his wounded jaw one more time, Antonio stood up and sighed, daring to come a little closer to Lovino even though he was practically seething with anger.

"Lovi…I-I'm sorry…I should have come to you first." He said, taking in Lovino's words, wiping a few tears from Lovino's face when he got close enough.

"Damn right you should have!" Lovino said back, slapping Antonio's hands away and furiously wiping at his eyes, just now realizing that he'd been crying.

A small smile formed on Antonio's face and he pulled Lovino in for a hug, not caring if the smaller man tried to push him away. He wouldn't let go. Not this time.

"I just got so scared, you know? I guess you could call it paranoia…" he squeezed him tightly to his chest, nuzzling his face in Lovino's shoulder. "I didn't understand why you weren't coming around as much…and I was afraid to ask you. I was afraid that if I tried you'd call me annoying and talk to me even less…"

Trying to resist the urge to hug Antonio back, but failing miserably, Lovino finally gave in and hugged back just as tightly.

"Idiot…you know that I don't mean it when I call you that…most of the time." He said, a small smirk on his face.

Chuckling, Antonio pulled away, keeping his hands on Lovino's shoulders as he did so. "Well, if you weren't trying to avoid me, then why haven't you been around?" he asked, still curious as to why he hadn't seen or heard from his friend in such a long time.

"I've been busy with work Antonio. You should know this is a busy time of the year for me!" he said, feeling a bit guilty for not saying anything to him.

"I'm sorry I didn't try to talk to you though…I can understand why you got scared…"

Nodding, Antonio took in a shaky breath and dropped his hands from Lovino's shoulders. "So, we're alright then?" he asked, hoping that they were. He'd hate it if Lovino was mad at him.

"Yeah…we're alright, idiot." He replied, smiling just a bit.

"Good, because I'd be really sad if you stayed mad me because of this…"

Rolling his eyes, Lovino, gently punched Antonio in the shoulder and scoffed. "Stupid. You know I can't stay mad at you."

Laughing a bit, Antonio nodded. "Si, I know~"

Chuckling a bit himself, Lovino's mind was put at ease knowing that everything was back to normal between himself and Antonio.

That is, his mind was at ease until something his brother said popped into his mind.

'He's been wanting to talk to you about something for a while'

Raising an eyebrow, Lovino looked at Antonio curiously.

"Say…umm…I was talking to a…a friend, and they said that you wanted to talk to me about something. What was that something?" he asked, deciding to just ask now before he forgot again.

Eyes widening, and a light blush crossing his cheeks, Antonio laughed nervously. "W-who told you that?" he asked, not realizing he'd have to talk about this so soon after they'd made up.

"That doesn't matter. Just spit it out already! I want to know, dammit!" Lovino huffed, puffing out his cheeks in annoyance.

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Antonio nodded, realizing now was probably a good time to do this anyways, seeing as they were doing so well right now.

"Alright…but don't get mad at me if you don't like what I say, alright?"

"I promise…I won't"

Sighing heavily, Antonio wondered why he was so nervous all of a sudden. He'd been so anxious to say this a while ago…why was it so different now? He guessed it was because he was actually doing it for real this time…not in front of the mirror.

"Lovino…" he started, piecing together his words carefully so he didn't sound dumb when he said this.

"I-I've been thinking a lot lately…a-and, part of the reason why I was so scared when you stopped talking to me is because I couldn't bear the thought of losing you…I-I don't know what I would do without you in my life Lovino. What I would do if I couldn't see you smile, or hear your laugh…"

There was a moment of silence between the two; the only noises made being the birds singing in the distance, and the sound of Lovino's now shaky breath.

"Long story short is that my life would be meaningless without you in it. Lovino…I love you. And that is why it hurt so bad when we lost contact like that…"

Done talking, Antonio stared at the ground shuffling his feet, sure that Lovino was going to think all of what he just said was stupid.

Standing stock still for a few moments, Lovino looked like a deer in the headlight. So that's what Antonio had wanted to talk about; what Feliciano had been talking about back then.

He smiled, realizing that it was pretty obvious. 'You sure showed me Feli...' he thought, chuckling a bit.

Meanwhile, Antonio stood, still staring at the ground, starting to feel a little nervous. Surely Lovino was upset with him. He must be. He wasn't saying anything to him. Preparing himself for the worst, Antonio waited.

He was surprised when he heard the sound of Lovino's feet moving closer to him, and felt Lovino's hands on his chin, gently pulling his head up to look at him.

A smile on his lips, Lovino leaned in close to Antonio's face. "Just another thing you should have told me sooner…" he mumbled under his breath before closing the space between them.

Stunned for a moment, Antonio wondered if this was really happening. He surely hadn't expected Lovino to make the first move.

It was an unexpected and wonderful surprise.

Kissing Lovino back, Antonio wrapped his arms around Lovino's waist, pulling him closer to him, the world seemingly melting away in that moment of bliss.

A short while later, the need for air arose, and they pulled back, grins on their faces and blushed dusting their cheeks.

"I love you too, Toni." Lovino said without hesitation, resting his forehead against Antonio's.

A few more kisses, and sweet words later, and the two found themselves heading back to Antonio's house.

A meal was prepared, and the two spent the evening laughing and talking about everything and nothing at the same time. It didn't matter to them, just so long as they were with each other.

Later that night after much discussion, and a lot of bribing from Antonio, the two headed to bed, Lovino having decided to spend the night.

Laying in each other's arms, neither could ask for more in this moment, and they doubted that they ever would now that they had each other.

Snuggling up closer to the already sleeping Antonio, Lovino sighed happily. He'd have to thank his brother sometime soon for all the help he'd given. If it weren't for him, he may have never gotten the guts to ask Antonio what was wrong…and then this would have never happened.

Closing his eyes, Lovino let the world slip away as he let sleep take him. For the first time in weeks, he was able to fall asleep without a problem, and for the first time in a while, he found that he couldn't wait to wake up again and start a new day.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

reviews are appreciated so I can make myself better at this~

Have a wonderful day :)