Infamous

Chapter Five: A friend and rival


Lovino wakes up and stretches in the large bed. Not his bed though, nope, that would be too simple. Rather it is Antonio's bed he has slept in for the night. It's been a few months since filming has started, along with a strange friendship between the two men, and apparently they have reached sleepover status. Yawning a little, Lovino sits up and looks around. The room is not fancy, of course, but it's nice. Antonio has a king-sized bed, to fit the animals no doubt seeing as they are both curled up around Lovino, a pretty averaged sized dresser, and a little mirror above it. No TV, no computer, nothing but the basics for a bedroom.

"He's so simple…" The Italian groans, absentmindedly petting the dog next to him.

"I'm not sure if that is a compliment or insult." Antonio laughs as he comes into the room. "Try not to tell the interviewers later this week, my fanbase thinks I'm deep and complicated."

"So…they know absolutely nothing about you." Lovino mumbles and Antonio sighs.

"So mean, Lovi." He sits down on the foot of the bed, handing Lovino coffee. "I can be deep even if you don't believe it."

Lovino looks around Antonio's room, wondering when it became normal to wake up in the man's bed and be given a cup of coffee like it's nothing. They aren't dating, or even having any form of sexual encounters, it's all strictly friendship. Yet here they are, sitting in Antonio's bed when even a month ago he refused to go anywhere near the room. "You know…for an idiot…you're pretty cunning." He says decidedly, making Antonio laugh.

"I know, I got you in my bed in a little over a week of getting you into my house." The Spaniard places a hand on his head. "If I tried to, who knows how little it would take to get into your pants?" He teases, earning a pillow smashed into his face.

"Go fuck yourself."

"But Lovi, you are already right here in my bed. Why settle for myself?" Antonio taunts, leaning in closer to the teen.

"Go. Away. Asshole." Lovino commands, kicking him hard enough to make him fall off the bed. "I knew I should have stayed home. I can't believe you talked me into staying the night…"

"Don't be like that, you enjoy it here. It's a much needed break from your house, right?" Antonio asks, making Lovino frown.

"…Maybe…but your stupid jokes are not appreciated!"

"What a grown up declaration!"

"I am a grown up you ass." Lovino groans, getting up from the bed and grabbing his clothes from the bag he brought. "You better get ready soon; the cast of our stupid show has a meeting to introduce some new guy."

"Ahh yes, the actor they refuse to tell us the name of." Antonio muses before getting up and picking clothes out for himself. "Should we shower together, Lovi?" He asks, earning himself a tightly closed fist in the gut.

"Shower in the other room, you pervert." Lovino grumbles, going into the bathroom as Antonio looks to his pets on the bed.

"Why do you guys do nothing to help me?" He whines, being stared blankly at by his pet. "Stingy." The man pouts, leaving the room to shower in his other bathroom.

After the two get ready they get into Antonio's car and head off to the meeting. Once they enter Bella and Katyusha smile and wave, ushering them to the seats on either side of the girls. Lovino sits by Bella and Antonio sits beside Katyusha, closest to the empty seat a new actor will soon be filling.

"So, spend the night at Antonio's again?" Bella asks Lovino, an innocent smile on her face.

"Yeah, Feliciano had that damned macho manager of his over again so I decided to stay there." Lovino grumbles, looking to the Spaniard in distaste. "It always becomes a bad idea. How can such a space cadet be so disgustingly cunning at times?"

"Hmm…who knows? Handsome men are difficult to understand." Bella muses and Lovino huffs.

"Good morning everyone!" The director exclaims, walking into the room with a large grin. "I have someone to introduce to you all! Some of you know him, others will be meeting him for the first time! However, he is just as much of a heart throb as Antonio! introducing, Abel Maes!" He calls as a tall man with spiked sandy blonde hair enters the room.

"Maes…? But wait…" Lovino looks to Bella curiously. "Your last name is Maes…is that your brother? Your brother is an actor? Does no one's family here have normal siblings?"

"Heheh….well…this is certainly a surprise…" Bella mumbles, an awkward smile on her face. "Abel is an actor and model, yes, but we are not normally given roles together…" She looks to her brother and then to Antonio. "And…those two…being in the same thing is not a good idea either."

Lovino glances over at the two men sitting next to each other, an awkward air around them. "What's their deal?"

"They used to be really good friends." Bella explains. "Back when we were still on this show as children. I'm still not sure what happened, but they suddenly hated each other around the time they hit high school…"

"You're still a mess I see." Abel grumbles in Antonio's direction.

"Ahh, am I now? If anyone is the mess, it would be the twenty six year old who still thinks spiking his hair straight up is cool." Antonio counters and Lovino rolls his eyes.

"I have a damn good fucking question!" Lovino yells, capturing everyone's attention. "I have read the script for this stupid ass reunion, and nowhere in it is there a new character. Also, why would you introduce a new character to a one shot episode?" He asks, dreading they will answer with the words he wants to hear the least.

"Ahh…well, Mr. Vargas…that's simple." The director grins widely. "There's been a rewrite allowing for…a future."

Lovino slumps back in to his seat, defeated. "A future…? No way I'm staying for more episodes…"

"It's simply a 'what-if' at this point. A lot of hype has been built up for this reunion. Old fans, new fans, Antonio's fans, Katyusha and Bella's fans, even your fans are all eagerly awaiting it." The director explains and Lovino stares at him blankly.

"I have no fans. I wasn't around enough to get many."

"You were cute, your brother is famous, you have plenty. Doesn't Matthew give you the fanmail?"

Lovino raises a brow. "No…wisely he keeps it away from me."

"You would throw it out without even looking at it?" Bella asks surprised and Lovino nods.

"I want a normal life. Normal people don't get fanmail."

"Throwing it out seems pretty cold." Antonio mumbles. "I make sure to read all of mine."

"It's not important. How will they know?" Abel points out.

"Don't teach him bad habits!" Antonio scolds and Abel looks away from him indifferently.

"Don't tell me what to do."

Lovino looks at the two of them as they argue and feels a strange sinking sensation in his chest. They might be arguing, but they seem to respect each other. Perhaps, what separated them, was a shaky relationship where unresolved…tensions caused its downfall? The thought makes him almost sick. Antonio flirting with anyone else, or giving anyone else special attention makes him feel sick. It's only been a few months. Just what is this guy doing to him?

"Way too cunning…" The Italian murmurs under his breath before looking at the director annoyed. "Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

"Not today, no, the new scripts are being finished now." The man answers, looking firmly at Lovino. "Think before you turn any future propositions down, Mr. Vargas."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Lovino says, standing up and kicking the back leg of Antonio's chair. "Let's go. I'm hungry."

Antonio smiles at him. "Of course. Lead the way, Lovi." He gets up and grabs his stuff, happily following the boy out.

"Lovino Vargas, huh? That's the boy Antonio has been infatuated with for ages?" Abel asks once they leave and the girls nod. "Weird, I thought general belief was he hated Antonio."

Bella shakes her head no, obviously amused. "That was a while ago! Ever since he visited Antonio's place for the first time, they have been inseparable." She giggles a little. "It's so cute~! Me and Katyusha have placed bets on how long it will take before they get together!"

Katyusha nods. "It's why, whenever Bella sees Lovino, she immediately asks if he spent the night with him."

Abel looks to his sister. "How shockingly devious of you, little sister."

"Well I need amusement too, you know." Bella points out, pouting. "I can't help it if those two cuties are more amusing than TV these days."

"I never got to meet Lovino when you were working for this show in the past…" Abel mumbles. "And now I'm fairly certain he has some twisted jealousy towards me in his head."

"Haha! Antonio's closer to his goal than he thinks!" Bella says, grinning to a now pouting Katyusha.

"Th-that doesn't mean you will win the bet!"


A/N: Bella, you sly woman~! Making bets on when two men are gonna get it on is a good pastime. Anyways, a few months have passed. Why? Because I said so. How long exactly does it take to film a TV-movie, I wonder? Well I guess since plans changed it would make sense it's taking longer...yeah...I'm currently obsessed with Netherlands (and a certain other country) together. So they will be in this as well. XD (And as usual sorry for the long wait)