With one last shudder, Lovino rolled off of Antonio and collapsed at his side, taking deep gulps of air. He groaned when Antonio slid a hand over his debauched stomach, smearing the little drops and ribbons of come. "You'd better think twice," he panted, "if you think I'll be ready to go again any time soon. Fuck."
He chuckled a little, trailing his fingers down Lovino's neck. "That's fine. I need a shower before I make breakfast anyway." Antonio, however, didn't make a move to get up. "Maybe I can wait a few more minutes..."
"You'd better," the Italian grumbled, mouthing at his throat. When Antonio began to stroke the coarse hair between his hips, he gave the bruised neck a little bite. "Better shower, I mean. You finally got a day off. I'm not gonna spend it with you smelling like this."
Antonio groaned and got out of his bed. "Alright, alright. Speaking of work, if my cell rings while I'm in the shower, can you answer it? I shouldn't get a call or anything, but dog's don't really work around my schedule."
"Yeah, yeah." Lovino waved him off and snuggled down into Antonio's covers as the Spaniard stumbled around his small room in search of clothes. He watched the tan backside retreat from the room and smiled to himself.
After a few minutes of light dozing, he was jerked awake by an obnoxious honking sound. Lovino groaned and looked for the cell phone, hoping it wasn't actually Antonio's work. He was told he would get a home cooked meal, and that is what he wanted. Once he found the phone, he opened it up, and saw that it was actually a text.
Tuesday, 8:07 AM
555-6378: Hey Antonio, this is Alicia, remember me? I was wondering if you would like to come over again... You know what I mean ;)
Lovino dropped the phone and blinked. Then, slowly, he lifted it a second time and stared. Again? And what the fuck was that wink? Again? When had he been "over" with some bitch named Alicia? He had spent all of that week with Lovino.
... But it had only been five days since he had returned from Belgium. The trip had lasted eight days, and he had returned straight into Antonio's arms at the airport. They had barely made it into the man's apartment without making public disgraces of themselves. He had just assumed that Antonio had held out for him for so long that he had nearly been ready to burst. But was that not the case?
Without meaning to, Lovino pictured how Antonio must have been with that girl, and why just her? He had been used to a lot of sex with a lot of people, Lovino had been so stupid to think that he would settle down with just one person. The Italian got out of bed, hastily putting on his clothes, not even caring that his shirt was inside out.
His stomach rolled uncomfortably when he saw the mess on his stomach and grabbed a nearby sock, hastily wiping himself off before pulling on his shirt and stumbling down the hallway, a slight limp in his step.
He needed some fresh air. The trip home would be sufficient.
.oOo.
Antonio stepped out of the bathroom, towel around his waist, and another one over his head. "So I wanted to make some breakfast burritos. They may not be as fancy as you're used to, but they're really good..." His voice trailed off when he took the towel off his head and didn't see Lovino on the bed. A quick search of the apartment proved that he wasn't there, and all his clothes were gone as well. What the hell happened?
Tuesday, 8:28 AM Antonio: Lovi, where are you?
Tuesday, 8:29 AM Antonio: Did you go grocery shopping?
Tuesday, 8:29 AM Antonio: Because I did that last night. Surprise! :D
Tuesday, 8:30 AM Antonio: Lovilovilovilovilovilovilovi
Tuesday, 8:47 AM Antonio: Lovi, I saw the text. I'll be there soon. Please let me explain.
Tuesday, 8:49 AM Antonio: Please, Lovino.
Tuesday, 8:58 AM Antonio: Lovi, please open the door.
Tuesday, 8:59 AM Antonio: Fine, if you're going to be like that I'll use the hide-a-key.
Tuesday, 9:02 AM Antonio: Lovi! What did you do with the hide-a-key!
Tuesday, 9:03 AM Antonio: Come on, let me in! I'm not gonna stop ringing the door bell!
"Knock it off!" Lovino's face appeared in the doorway, hassled and tired and out for blood. "What the fuck are you doing?"
Antonio pushed his way inside past him, even though Lovino protested. "I know you saw that text from... uh, that girl. But it wasn't like I actually wanted to go or anything! I can't help what people text me!"
"Stop!" he growled, glaring daggers. "Get the fuck out of my house. You have no right, and I will get the fucking police."
"Why?" Antonio wouldn't leave before pleading his case, he just wouldn't. "Look, I wasn't going to cheat on you, or whatever you were thinking. Let's just go back to my place, and we'll have breakfast like I promised, alright?"
"Get out!" He shoved Antonio until he hit the wall. "I don't want to hear it! I should have... no. I really expected this all along." Lovino swallowed. "You don't have anything to explain. I knew it was going to happen eventually."
Antonio's green eyes looked at him, incredibly confused. "What are you talking about? Lovi, I just said I wasn't going to cheat on you. I don't even remember who that girl is! I probably gave her my number a long time ago or something." Maybe if he had a picture of her, he would remember, but he was usually pretty bad with names.
A look of hurt flashed over Lovino's face, but the muscle in his jaw clenched and he masked it quickly. "Just because you can't remember them, you think that makes it better?"
"Well I don't know! Of course, I don't even know what it is that I've done wrong. Seems I don't know a lot, hey?" Antonio started getting desperate, wanting to make this better. "Are you mad because so many people have my number? Fine, I'll change the number then!"
Lovino glared hotly. Antonio could see the little vein in his neck, though, the one that said he was swallowing whatever emotions he was feeling and putting on a face of anger to cover it up. "Don't be stupid. This... It's not your fault." He took the door knob in his hand and pulled it open further. "You warned me yourself. I just didn't listen."
"I... but... what? No Lovi, you're mad at me. Or upset or disappointed or something. Tell me how to make it better." He put his hand on Lovino's arm, trailing it down until he was holding his hand. "Please, tell me what to do."
The young man tugged his hand away and pulled it to his chest. "There's nothing to do. You told me you'd still flirt with people, and I thought you were joking. I accepted, though, so this was on me. I'm a businessman, Antonio. I know that if I don't heed to the terms and conditions, it can come back to bite me. And it did. It was my fault. So please just go. I can't..."
That threw him. "Flirt with people? Yeah, I'm a flirt, so what? So are you. Whenever we see a pretty girl, you're all smiles. But I don't see why flirting has you being like this, it's not like I actually do anything with the people I flirt with."
"Don't lie to me! I read the fucking text! Again, she said." Lovino's cheeks were stained red with humiliation. "So was it when I was in Belgium? Fucking hell, you couldn't have just used your hand? Fuck!"
Antonio's mouth fell open with a quiet "Oh." Then he shook his head. "Lovi, I swear, I haven't been with anyone since we started dating. And I consider that from the first night we went for drinks. I must have slept with her before that."
"How can you expect me to believe that? You're so fucking cheerful and popular and- and you just draw people to you. You wouldn't settle for someone like me. I can't believe you even b-bothered in the first place, and I don't know how it's lasted this l-long, but-"
The Spaniard suddenly stepped forward from the wall, shutting Lovino up. "I'll prove it." Antonio said, and then he... left. Just went out of the door and closed it behind him. Lovino let out a shaky breath, thinking that he should be relieved that he was gone so he could get on with his life. What he actually felt wasn't relief at all.
He went about his day like he normally would, with the exception of checking his phone every two minutes. He milled about the apartment, tried to read, though his mind wasn't in it, tried to sleep, though an ache in the back of his throat bothered him into restlessness.
At five, he started making dinner. It was kind of depressing having to make pasta for just one person, after eating nearly every dinner for the past few weeks with Antonio. But he didn't think about him, didn't want to think about that bastard anymore. He was out of his life. Probably for good. His hand shook as he stirred the creamy sauce, some deep, awful hurt sinking in his chest. He always did this to himself. He always let people make room in his life, in his heart, when he knew damn well that nothing could ever truly last. But it had not been the first time someone he dated had slept with other people during their relationship, and it would not be the last.
Or maybe it would. Lovino couldn't imagine why he would ever want to try to love like that again.
Before he could eat any of it, the door bell rang. Lovino sighed, hoping whoever was at the door wouldn't take too long. He hated eating cold pasta, almost as much as he hated microwaving pasta. Lovino went to the door and opened it without even looking out the peep hole.
Antonio grinned at him triumphantly, if looking a little pale. Lovino stared. "... What the fuck? Why are you here?"
"I said I would prove it, didn't I?" He turned his head, and Lovino saw what looked like a white bandage behind his ear. Antonio peeled it off, and there, on the skin, was a small heart, with the words "Mi Lovi" written in curling, swooping letters. The Italian's jaw dropped. He stared at the dark heart and the curved font and then tore his eyes away to look into Antonio's. "Are you fucking nuts? That's permanent!"
"Exactly!" Antonio winced as he put the bandage back on; it was still really tender. "I'm going to have this on my skin for the rest of my life. So you can't go thinking that I don't love you, or that I would cheat on you, or any of it, ever again, alright? This proves it!"
Lovino's eyes sharpened before, very quickly, so quickly in fact that the young man himself did not even seem to realize it was happening, they swam with liquid emotion. "You... um."
Antonio caught up with what he had just said, and a light blush dusted his cheeks, and he gave a sheepish smile. "Because I do. Love you, I mean. I wouldn't have gotten a tattoo with your name if I didn't."
Sniffing and rubbing at his eyes, Lovino shook his head. "You're a fucking moron, you know that? I hate you. I hate you so much. Get your ass inside."
The Spaniard smiled in relief and went through the door. Antonio wrapped his arms around Lovino, putting his head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I made you cry. Are you alright?"
Grumbling something incoherent, Lovino closed the door and let Antonio pull him closer, closing his own arms tentatively about Antonio's waist. "Of course I'm alright. And I haven't cried. You're just imagining shit to satisfy your ego. No, don't look!"
"Alright, you weren't crying then. Just something in your eye." Antonio said, chuckling a little. He pulled back a little so they could go deeper into the house. "But now, you'll never get rid of me. I hear removing a tattoo is more painful than getting it, so I'm never gonna leave."
.oOo.
Lovino looked up at Antonio from his phone and nudged the lightly dozing Spaniard awake. Sitting upright again, Antonio's arm tightened around Lovino's shoulder and smiled sleepily, ignoring the documentary playing on the television. "Hey," the Italian said, "I was reading something from a professional website, and they say you should have taken the bandage off a couple of hours after you got it, and then wash it off with unscented soap. It's been too long. Didn't they leave you instructions or something?"
"Uh, oh they gave me this paper." He fished it out of his pocket, and opened it for care instructions. "I was in too much of a hurry to come here, so I didn't read it." And sure enough, it said that he should have taken the bandage off by now. "Lovi? Can you help me wash it? I can't really see it very well."
"Yeah, yeah, you big baby. Come on."
In the bathroom, he ignored all of Antonio's catty remarks as he stripped and all but pushed the naked man into the shower. "I've got some plain soap," he said, "but the shampoo has alcohol in it, and the website warned against that. So you wash your hair and try not to get it close to the shaved part."
"Alright." Antonio felt a grin spreading on his face. "So if I'm the baby, does that make you my... daddy?"
"I've got soap about two inches from your eye," Lovino said, rubbing his lathered hands together. "You really wanna go there right now?"
He eyed the soap, and shrugged. "You would be an abusive daddy anyway. You would spank me all the time." Just to make sure, he closed his eyes after he said it, not that he really expected Lovino to put soap in his eye.
"Is it abuse when you're very literally and ardently asking for it?" he mumbled, rubbing gentle circles into the skin of the tattoo.
Antonio winced when he got to a very tender spot, but let him continue. "As long as I get to spank you back, I wouldn't mind. You could even say that I've been a very bad boy." Even with his flirting, he tried to stay very still, not wanting it to hurt more than it had to.
"Stop talking and shower, fucking masochist," he chuckled back, and when the Spaniard began to complain, he gave the smooth brown ass a quick, sharp slap. "I said shut up."
He got the shampoo and started carefully working it into his hair, making sure to stay away from that side of his face. Antonio looked down at the Italian and smiled. "Do you wanna know why I got it behind my ear?"
"I know you're going to tell me anyway," he answered, eyes flickering over to Antonio's.
"I got it there because that's kind of the lover's spot. I mean, no one else is going to be nibbling on my ear." Then he chuckled. "And I thought that was a little bit classier than on my butt."
"Just a little," Lovino agreed, and once Antonio had rinsed himself off, hair and body, Lovino pressed a very quick kiss to his cheek before grabbing a towel off the rack and tossing it at Antonio's face. "Get dressed. I'm going to go shower myself. And then I want to finish my fucking movie."
He smiled as he dried himself off, once again being careful while doing his hair. "Alright. I'll be on the couch." He went out, putting his pants back on, but didn't bother with a shirt. Antonio sat on the couch, not wanting to put the movie back on until Lovino was finished. Not ten minutes later, Lovino stepped into the living room in fresh clothes and wet hair, peering over at the form on his sofa. Without intending it, a little smile lifted the corners of his lips. From the plush chair on the other side of the room he grabbed the fuzzy throw and switched off the lights, settling against his lover under the small blanket and pushed Play.
.oOo.
Antonio watched from his bed as Lovino went around the room, gathering up his clothes to go home. It hadn't been planned, but he had gotten an urgent phone call, and had to go home to change before going to the office. The Spaniard sighed as he watched him. "You know... you should move in here."
"Not now, just shut up, I have to think," Lovino growled, hopping into his (sinfully tight, just for Antonio's benefit, he liked to think) jeans and hastily buttoning his shirt up. The young man patted his pockets and cursed to himself. "Shit, shit, have you seen my car keys?"
He pointed to the dresser, but wouldn't let it go. "I mean it, we're sleeping over either here or at your place practically every night. And if we lived together, whoever gets home first could make dinner! Just think about it, okay?"
He didn't even think that Lovino was listening at that point, so frenzied was his search. He disappeared from the room, slipping the mobile into his back pocket, and when Antonio heard a triumphant cry from beyond, he assumed Lovino had found them.
Nearly an hour later, once he had finally dragged himself out of bed, Antonio checked his phone to find a new message from Lovino. Project's going to last through the night. I'll be staying over at the office. If you bring me some clothes around one, we can do lunch.
He smiled a bit to himself, already planning where they could eat. Antonio went to Lovino's house to grab him some clothes, and went to the school. Once there, he could barely keep his eyes off the clock, so, at a quarter to one, he left, extra clothes in hand.
Lovino met him in a little cafe downtown, taking the bag from him with a sigh. "It blows to be the owner's grandson sometimes," he grumbled once they were seated. "But at least I'll get the rest of the week off once this project's finished. Campaign for a new spiced flavor. Like we haven't got an entire fucking floor dedicated to it already."
Antonio grinned and sat down. "Have you already ordered?" It was a quiet little cafe, there were a few other couples in it but not many. And, since Lovino had picked it, the food had to be good.
"No, I was waiting for you. Coffee for me, please," he ordered, smiling politely to the plump, older waitress when she sidled up to their table.
"So did you get everything worked out alright? That call seemed really urgent," Antonio asked, also ordering a coffee, and looked at the menu to see what they had.
"It's the stupid fucks we hired as linguists- it's fine. Professionalism is dead. Apparently, one of our very well-paid interpreters had some slip of the tongue to one of our highest-paying Turkish clients. I spent a few years studying in Turkey when I was young, so I was brought in to resolve the matter."
He nodded, and thanked the lady as she brought their coffee. "Well, it's both of our lunch breaks, I don't want to talk about work. Have you thought about what I said?"
"Hmm?" Lovino stirred granulated sugar into his cup and frowned. "What did you say?"
"I said that I think you should move into my place. You've said that your house is too big for you, so move in with me," Antonio said, sounding lighthearted, like it didn't matter to him, but he really did want Lovino to move in.
The cup was poised in midair, just inches from Lovino's mouth. His eyebrows lifted so high that they had nearly disappeared into his bangs. "... You... wait, when did you decide this?"
Antonio sighed. Lovino really hadn't been paying attention to him this morning. "When you were rushing away to go to work. If you lived there, all your clothes would be there, and you wouldn't have to stop at home before work."
If anything, Lovino looked confused. He took a long sip of his coffee before setting it down and staring into its dark, bitter depths. "Don't you, um... like your space, though? I mean, it may sound like a good idea now, but if you can't get a breather, you might not like it so much."
"It's not me that would need the space. But it's up to you, I think it would be nice living together." Even if his place was kind of small. But they could put some of Lovino's furniture instead of his furniture, and he could do some more cleaning up.
"Oh. Uh." Antonio could see that he was flustered, and the look in his dark golden eyes told him that it wasn't the bad kind of flustered, but he still seemed to hesitate. "Let's... let's give it a little thought. Okay?"
Antonio put his hand over Lovino's on the table. "Yeah, you think about it. Tell me what you want to do when you're ready, because I've already made up my mind."
The Italian nodded after a moment and turned his palm over to squeeze Antonio's hand back. "I will. But tell me if you change your mind."
"I won't change my mind," he said, without hesitation.
"Yeah, okay, but if you do, promise you'll tell me. I want to... talk about it and shit if you need to."
Antonio smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll tell you if I want to back out. But I won't."
"I suspect that you won't," Lovino muttered softly, examining the back of Antonio's hand. He jumped back when the waitress set their dishes in front of them and hastily set about to eating, blushing all the while.
.oOo.
Wednesday, 8:48 PM Antonio: Are you seriously still at work? You've been there for almost 2 days!
Wednesday, 9:04 PM Lovino: Yeah, I'm just finishing up now. I hate to ask, but could you come pick me up? Can barely keep my eyes open.
Wednesday, 9:05 PM Antonio: Sure, I'll be there in like 20 mins.
Antonio was lucky and just caught the next bus which stopped right outside Lovino's office. He had a drivers license, even though he didn't have a car, so it worked out nicely, driving Lovi home.
The Italian slid into the passenger seat with none of his usual grace and was out like a light by the time Antonio started the car. He began to snore by the first traffic light, and roused in the most grouchy fashion Antonio had ever seen when they came back to his apartment.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. You're the one who worked yourself to death." Antonio walked with him to the door, and once they were in the bedroom, started undressing him, starting with his shoes. "Just a minute more and you can go back to sleep, okay?"
"I smell like 'neptitude," he grumbled, flopping backwards into bed. "And the copy machine. Ffffuck trees."
"Alright, we've officially reached the point where you stop making sense." Antonio finally got his pants off, figured he could sleep in a shirt and underwear, and pulled down the covers for Lovino to get under. Then he started getting undressed himself. Tiredly, Lovino clambered beneath the covers and curled up on his side of the bed, his face sunken deeply into Antonio's pillow.
"Yeah," he sighed when Antonio slid in beside him and pulled him close. "I could live here, I think."
Antonio's breath caught at the sleepy sentence. Did he really mean it? Was Lovino even aware of what he was saying? He curled around the Italian and put his head on the pillow. "We'll talk about it in the morning." Because if he held him to what he said while half asleep, Lovino would never agree to it.
Thirteen hours passed, and finally Lovino began to stir, his throat dry and the inside of his mouth gummy. Luckily, Antonio was already out of bed, so he crept into the bathroom to brush his teeth and gulp down his weight in water.
When he emerged, it was to find Antonio with a hot cup of coffee ready for him. Lovino sat down at the table, and without a word, started drinking it.
He yawned, drowsy from all the sleep, and eyed the Spaniard that settled across from him. "You're going to have to get used to not-shit brands of coffee if we're gonna to start living together."
The dark haired man grinned brightly. "So you remember what you said last night. Good, I thought I was going to have to bring it up."
"I wasn't drunk. I was just tired as fuck." He cringed at the taste of the cheap coffee, but kept drinking. "I don't know how I'm going to fit my shit in here. And my sofa folds out into a bed, so we'll have to trade yours out for when Feli comes over."
"Oh, yeah, we are definitely not keeping my couch. I say we get a storage locker for some of our stuff, we choose some things to keep, and the rest goes in the locker." Antonio said, sipping at his own cup of coffee.
"That's where you put stuff you never pull out again, though, isn't it?" Lovino said with a little frown. "I mean, I don't give a shit about expense or whatever, but lots of the things I own are gifts from family."
He shrugged, smiling brightly at the prospect of Lovino moving in with him. "Well, maybe after a while we can move some place else where we can fit all your furniture. But not some place like the house you're living now. It's so big. I don't even know how you keep it all clean."
"And I don't know how one man can make all of this fuckin' mess," Lovino countered, snorting into his cup. "Ridiculous."
"It's not that bad! It's not like I have shit everywhere, just a few places." Like on the tables and counters and shelves. But he mostly kept the floor clear. Antonio smiled, and happened to tilt his head in a way so Lovino could see the tattoo. "I'll try to keep it cleaner. But you have to contribute too."
"Well, no shit," he said. "But you know, if I clean and then come home from work to find that a veritable tornado went through the place, I'm going to throw a fit. Did you make sure to wash your ear? Twice a day?"
Antonio laughed a little, and almost reached up to touch it. "Mostly. At least once a day." It was pretty much healed up by now, but it could still be tender if something touched it.
Lovino frowned. "For the first week you need to wash it twice a day. And you can start putting lotion on it now. It'll flake, but don't scratch it."
"It's not infected or anything, so don't worry about it." Antonio smirked, running his hand through his sleep tousled hair. Not that it ever looked any different than it did now, Lovino thought, rolling his eyes.
The young Italian's jaw twitched in irritation. "You're supposed to treat it like-" He stopped himself and took a slow breath. "If we're gonna do this living together thing and not kill each other, then I propose we start by setting up a few ground rules. First on the list: obviously you have difficulty maintaining a sanitary living environment, so I'd appreciate it if you'd actually listen to me when I have a health concern and comply with the simplest fucking requests." Then, through his grit teeth, "... Please."
"It's not like I'm a slob! It just isn't pristine like your house." Antonio sighed, a small smile on his face. "Look, it's almost been a week since I got the tattoo, it's going to be fine. I'll start putting lotion on it today, if that's what you want."
Lovino relaxed slightly, nodding. "Good. Just don't scratch." He finished off his coffee and set the cup down with finality on the table. "You know, we haven't been obnoxiously affectionate for two whole days."
Antonio lifted an eyebrow, stood up and went over to him. "Well, the day is just starting..."
.oOo.
"Lovi!" Feliciano crooned, falling perfectly against his brother. The hostess in the dimly lit restaurant eyed them patiently as she gathered menus. "It's been so long! Has Antonio come, too?"
"He should be here soon. As usual, the bastard is late." Lovino let his brother rest against him comfortably, not even resisting when he was pulled into a hug.
"There will be one more joining us," he told the young hostess once she had led them to their table. The pretty brunette smiled and nodded and set their menus down before returning to her station. Lovino devoted all of his attention to Feliciano then, who smiled complacently behind his dark glasses. "How are your grades, Feli?" he asked, and smirked when Feliciano whined.
"You sound like Mama!"
"Tough shit. I hope you gave her the answer she wanted to hear."
He sighed dramatically, letting go of Ebony's harness. "I only have a few classes, and they're fine. It's only art, after all."
"I knew a couple classy fucks in primary school who failed their art classes. Don't assume you won't make that mistake just because you're talented. What do you want to drink, Feli?"
He tilted his head, thinking. It really was too bad that he was too young to order wine. "I'll just have water. What do they have for pasta?"
Lovino was interrupted by Antonio coming in and sitting beside him, pressing a quick kiss to Lovino's temple. "Hi Feli! It's been a while! You never come to the school anymore." He let Ebony sniff his hand, wondering if she remembered him.
"Ebony graduated a long time ago!" he answered proudly, his head tilting upward. "Thanks to Ludwig."
"He instructed you," Lovino corrected. "But you did the work."
Antonio laughed, patting Lovino's knee. "Yeah, I know you two are all set now. Are you noticing a big difference? You two are working well together?"
"Mm, yes, very," Feliciano said, his lips curling into a soft grin. "Ludwig does a lot of good for me."
Lovino looked between the two of them as they chatted amicably, and felt that same little niggle of anxiety scratch at the back of his throat, but one glance up gave him the perfect view of his name scrawled elegantly under Antonio's dark brown curls and he relaxed.
The older brother stood up a few minutes later, excusing himself to the bathroom before their food came. Antonio let him out of the booth, and sat back down, smiling over at Feliciano. "Well, it's really nice to know that Ludwig has found someone for himself. I was beginning to worry about the man."
"I think we should talk about him later. I'd like to talk about Lovino now, if that's okay." Feliciano's smile was mild, but Antonio could tell that some heavy thought was behind it.
"Oh... yeah, sure. What do you want to talk about? It's not about him moving, is it?" They were still trying to smooth out all the wrinkles, so it wasn't done yet, and Lovino was still looking for someone to buy his place.
"No... well, yes. I just want to make sure that you're ready for this commitment. And I don't mean just about Lovi." He paused when the waitress came with their food, leaving Lovino's in the empty spot.
Antonio looked over at him, amazed at how serious Feliciano was being. "The commitment of moving in together? Yeah, it was my idea. I love him, and anyway, we're together pretty much every day anyway."
"I know," Feliciano chirped. "I know how much he loves you. I just think that you should know that you're not just in a relationship with Lovi anymore if you make this commitment. I'll be very frank. I like you, I do, but hypothetically, if you did anything to hurt him, I'd be the one to tell my family the bad thing you'd done." His voice dropped low then as he found his fork and, twirling the pasta expertly, he murmured, "And they can be so, so scary. So!" He smiled again. "Just make sure not to do anything dumb. Hi, Lovi!"
Lovino looked between them for a minute, sensing he had missed something. "...whatever." He sat down when Antonio let him in the seat, and looked at his food to make sure it was right.
"Lovi, have a bite, this is really yummy!" Feliciano lifted his fork and Lovino took it obediently, licking his lips.
"Shit, that is good. Here." He stabbed a hearty forkful of his own and pressed it back into Feliciano's hand. "Feli, could you keep some of my shit in your empty office? Antonio's place is tiny."
"Of course! But I don't know why Antonio doesn't just move into your house. Wouldn't that be easier?" Feliciano asked, head tilted to the side when he took the bite of Lovino's dinner.
Antonio looked to Lovino, hoping that he would answer. Really, it would make more sense to move in with him, bigger house, bigger kitchen, bigger everything. But he still remembered the first time Lovino had come over, he said it felt homey.
Lovino shrugged, ignoring Antonio's stare. "If it's too big for one person, it's too big for two. The only downside is that you wouldn't have a bedroom to yourself if you came over."
He nodded at that, satisfied with that answer. They all quieted down as they started eating, and Lovino grinned as he tried the garlic bread. "This is really good food. I'll have to bring Ludwig here some time. But he won't like it, he doesn't think expensive places are worth it."
"Is he stupid?" Lovino asked blandly. "Of course they're worth it. If it was expensive and tasteless that'd be one thing, but you have great taste. You'd never take him anywhere bad. It's probably some weird masculinity issue or something."
Feliciano smiled fondly. "Yes, he doesn't like it when I pay the whole bill. How about you, Antonio?"
"Well, I pay when Lovi doesn't beat me to it. Sometimes he even goes to the bathroom and pays on the way back so that I won't be able to stop him." Antonio rolled his eyes and rested his hand on Lovino's knee.
"If I did that, Ludwig would be upset with me," Feliciano sighed. "It's just that he is so good to me, I want to pay him back whatever small way I can."
"Yeah," Lovino agreed quietly, before turning pink, completely avoiding Antonio's eyes. "I mean, fuck, no, that's ridiculous, Feli, it should be the other way around. I hope you let him pay every once in a while."
Feliciano didn't know about Antonio's large grin, but he could feel that he was happy. "No, I like paying for him. He works so hard for his money, and he plans where he will spend it all. Besides, I'm normally the one who wants to go out to a restaurant."
"But I bet you cook most, too. Damn, Feli, if you two are dating and you're playing the little fucking housewife, he should at least take you out on his own dime."
"He bakes, too," Feliciano defended. "He's really good at baking cake. You've got to try it sometime. He makes traditional German chocolate cake. It's bitter, Lovi, but it's so good!"
Antonio nodded at that. "Yeah, he's brought it for lunch a few times and I had a piece. It's pretty good. Well, I guess it depends on what you like, it's not really sweet."
"Feliciano's biased," Lovino said, rolling his eyes. "Normally he doesn't like sweets if they're not really sweet. Won't even eat biscotti without rolling it in powdered sugar."
"Hey!"
"Well, it's true."
Feliciano pouted a bit, but quickly perked back up as he ate his pasta. When the bill came, Lovino grabbed it immediately, not letting Antonio even look at it. He also insisted on driving Feliciano home, which they all agree to.
"We need to do this again soon," Lovino insisted, walking Feliciano to the door and kissing his brother on the cheek. "And next time, your macho boyfriend can come. And pay."
He giggled at that, knowing that he would never make Ludwig pay. "Alright. It was fun! Oh, and Lovi, I meant to ask you, have you talked to Grandpa lately? He's planning the family reunion. It's been so long since the last one."
"Shit," Lovino groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. Yeah, we met up last month in Venice, and he reminded me. He said he'd send tickets."
Feliciano suddenly looked a bit nervous, wringing his hands absentmindedly. "Have you told him... about Antonio? I want to bring Ludwig, but... well, you know how overprotective Grandpa can be. He's even worse than you are."
"Yeah," he grumbled. "I know. I didn't have to tell him. He already knows about them both. You can thank Mama for that. I could only redirect the conversation after giving him Antonio's fucking blood type."
"Oh... well, I'm sure he'll like them both! How could anyone not like Ludwig? And Antonio is very funny. I'm sure they'll get along. Well, bye! See you soon!" Feliciano leaned up to kiss Lovino's cheek, finding it quickly.
Lovino waited faithfully at the doorstep until Ebony's tail disappeared behind the door and he heart the little click of the lock before strolling back to the car.
.oOo.
Antonio held the door open for the two burly movers as they carried Lovino's couch out of the house. It must have weighed a ton, but they seemed fine with it, lifting the heavy sofa without even breaking a sweat. Lovino followed with a box of clothing, stuffing it into Antonio's car before stepping aside to allow his lover to do the same. "Look at them," he said with a sigh.
"What, the movers? What about them?" Antonio closed the door, the car pretty much full, and watched as the two guys came back out of the moving van. It was exciting, finally doing this after so long of just planning.
"Look at how ripped they are. Damn." He leaned back against the car and watched unabashedly.
Antonio looked down at him, eyebrow raised. "Wait, you're checking out the moving guys? When your boyfriend is standing right beside you?" He tried to sound hurt, but really he didn't care. As long as Lovino was just looking.
"I'm not... checking them out," he said, tilting his head to the side. "I'm just making observations." Looking over at Antonio, his eyes took on a considerably darker tone as they raked up and down his lean form. "I'm not really into beefy guys anyway."
"Well, good. Or else you would be into your brother's boyfriend." Antonio chuckled, looking back to the house. All of the boxes were out already, and they were just working on all the furniture, which was going into the truck. They had already separated out the stuff that would be stored at Feliciano's house.
Lovino snorted and smacked Antonio's hip. He dug the phone out of his pocket when it began to ring. "Yeah right. He's pale as fuck, and that's no fun. Ah, damn." Pressing Talk, Lovino held the phone up to the side of his face and turned away from Antonio. He spoke briskly and his tone gave off the distinct air of businesslike patience, but Antonio couldn't understand the words coming from his mouth. They all ran together smoothly, like melted chocolate, and Antonio realized that he was speaking Italian.
Even though he knew only a few words of Italian, he listened to the conversation, the foreign words washing over him. It sounded enchanting, intelligent, and completely sexy. Antonio put that to memory as Lovino closed his phone and turned back to him.
"Venetian branch needed Grandpa's contact information," he said, rolling his eyes. "Wanted his personal number. The dumb fucks think they'll actually get it."
Antonio made a sound of understanding, and watched as the movers took out the last piece of furniture. "Well, guess that's it, let's get going."
Lovino turned in the keys to the landlord and slid into Antonio's car, not sparing even a glance to his former home. He jumped when his phone rang again and mumbled a little curse to himself, answering in a manner far more clipped than before.
Antonio grinned. He loved it when it wasn't him inciting Lovino's wrath. It made it much more fun to watch the Italian bristle.
It took most of the day for everything to be put right, Antonio's couch, chair, desk, and oven taken out and replaced with the more expensive counter parts. The oven in particular took about an hour to deal with, Antonio complaining that it worked fine, and Lovino insisting that he would not cook with an oven that was just fine.
There were a fair number of breaks, of course, as they celebrated their new living arrangements: grinding against the fridge, fallatio on the sofa, a good half hour of locking lips while perched atop the bathroom counter.
But when it was all finished and well into the night, Antonio pulled him into the bedroom. "Come on, let's make love for the first time in our apartment."
"First... you're joking. Just because I've moved my mattress onto your bedframe, that doesn't make it the first time. We've done it on that mattress and in this apartment respectively more times than I can count."
"That's not what I meant! This will be the first time when you are actually, really living with me. Sure, we've slept over, and sure we've left stuff at each other's places, but now you are officially living here." Antonio wrapped his arms around Lovino's waist. "It's important."
Sighing as though he were long-suffering, Lovino tilted his head upward and kissed Antonio soundly where he stood. "If you insist," he said when they parted, and fell back onto the bed. "Fuckin' shame that we're gonna get these clean sheets dirty, though."
He grinned and followed him down. "We could both wear rubbers. But I know how much you hate them." Honestly, they hadn't been wearing condoms for at least two months now, both preferring the raw sensation of their bodies moving together without a barrier since they'd both been tested.
"You can't keep sweat away with condoms," Lovino retorted, rolling on top of Antonio and granting him a series of deep, brief kisses.
When he pulled away, Antonio looked up at him and gave his best sexy smile. "Hey... say something hot in Italian. I heard you on the phone today, it almost made me hard right there in the street," he murmured, running his hands up Lovino's back.
Lovino shuddered and closed his eyes. "That- that was business. It's boring to talk about business in bed." He practically purred when Antonio pulled him close for another kiss.
"Don't talk about business. Say something sexy in Italian." When they pulled apart long enough, Antonio lifted Lovino's shirt over his head, throwing it somewhere on the ground.
When Antonio mouthed at his neck, Lovino groaned and threaded the fingers of his right hand through Antonio's hair. In a soft, sensual tone, he began to speak, and only stopped when Antonio nipped at his clavicle.
"I know a little Italian. You were just counting, weren't you? That's not sexy at all." Antonio pouted, licking the area of skin to soothe it.
"I can't... can't think straight," he retorted, grunting and lifting his hips. "Motherfucker... j-just tell me what you want me to say, and I'll say it...!"
Antonio chuckled, moving to Lovino's pants to get them undone. "But that ruins it. Here, like this. Eres tan hermosa, mi rosa poco, quiero sentir en mi contra para siempre." He made sure that his voice was deeper when he spoke Spanish, the words ghosting over Lovino's skin, lighting it on fire.
Lovino watched him silently, his eyes wide for a moment, and then he rolled on top of Antonio, reaching down to cup the Spaniard's erection through his jeans. "I don't know what the fuck that means," he growled, marking up Antonio's throat in between words.
His eyes slid closed for a moment and Antonio moaned, pushing up into Lovino's hand. "You don't have to know what it means. But it sounds sexy, doesn't it?" Why couldn't Lovino understand a language kink?
"Fuck yes," Lovino said, tilting his hips into Antonio's. "Do it again. Do it again and you can fuck me on every fucking surface in this apartment."
He smirked, bringing Lovino down for a quick kiss. "I'm going to do that anyway, mi tesoro. Me vuelves loco." Antonio never would have thought that learning Spanish growing up would be used like this, but he couldn't complain.
"Fuck, just... fuck." Lovino lifted up onto his knees and shimmied out of the tight jeans, falling over to Antonio's side as he kicked them off. He kissed one broad shoulder and then Antonio's neck.
Antonio reached for the lube, and came back with it in his hand. "Now it's your turn. Say something in Italian, something way more sexy than counting to ten."
Groaning, Lovino tucked his body against Antonio's and fumbled with the Spaniard's jeans. He murmured something in his mother's native language, low and even, more like a purr than a sigh against Antonio's shoulder.
"Damn, that's hot," Antonio groaned, running his fingers through Lovino's hair, before gripping it and bringing him to his mouth. They kissed slowly as Lovino got his pants undone, and started pushing them down the Spaniard's hips.
He'd barely kicked them off of his legs before Lovino took the lubricant from his hands and slicked up Antonio's cock before he could blink.
Antonio put his hand on Lovino's shoulder. "Going a little fast, aren't you? Haven't even stretched you yet. And it's been... well, a whole day since we last had sex." They could probably do it without preparation, but he wanted to make it painless for the Italian.
Rolling his eyes, Lovino, to Antonio's surprise, acquiesced. He moved his slippery hands up to his lover's waist and buried his nose in the crook of Antonio's neck.
Antonio smiled and slicked up his fingers, trailing them down to Lovino's crack. Antonio's other hand was caressing the back of Lovino's neck, occasionally rubbing up into his hair line. "This is a good position. Now I can watch your greedy little hole swallow up my fingers," he whispered into his ear.
Lovino shivered and rolled onto his back, glaring over at Antonio half-heartedly. "You can only tease me if you do it in Spanish," he mumbled, cheeks burning an honest shade of rose.
The Spaniard smirked, and rolled on top of him, finally slipping the first finger in. He whispered more naughty things in Spanish, things that he had never said in that language before. But it was obviously turning Lovino on.
"Fucking hell," Lovino breathed, sliding one leg atop Antonio's hip to allow himself enough leverage to rut slowly against him with every thrust of his fingers.
Soon he took his fingers out, and lined himself up with Lovino's hole. He pushed the head in, and stopped. "Say please, in Italian."
"Per favore," Lovino answered immediately, his breath hitched hot against Antonio's jaw. "Antonio, Antonio, just... yes..."
Antonio started thrusting, going fast right from the beginning, not wanting to take his time right now. "Damn Lovi... you feel so fucking good. Te quiero Lovi, I love you so much." He bent down, mouthing along Lovino's chin, up to his ear, nibbling on it.
Lovino locked his thigh tight around Antonio's hip, his ankle wedging itself just behind the Spaniard's knee as he rocked against Antonio.
He reached a hand between them, fingering the tip of Lovino's leaking cock, circling the head with his finger before grabbing onto it. Antonio licked a path to his neck, and sucked on a spot, determined to leave a mark. The Italian panted and writhed like he had no control over himself. He keened on reflex when Antonio suckled on his clavicle. Lovino sucked back, leaving a dark mark right beneath his ear. Antonio put a hand under Lovino's butt, lifting him up a little so he could thrust deeper inside. He heard the Italian moan louder, and he knew that he had hit his prostate dead on. With a tiny little gasp, Lovino shivered and held on tighter to the older man. "I- ah! Fuck. Fuck. Yeah, come on, just..." His breath hitched once, twice as his prostate was nudged.
"Fuck... Lovi, Lovi come with me, come together..." Antonio panted, holding onto Lovino tightly, stroking his length quickly, and tried to muffle his moan into the tanned shoulder as he came with a cry.
Lovino whimpered and closed his eyes, his voice raising in pitch with every little stroke. "Yes, 'Tonio, more... m-more, just..."
When Antonio squeezed his balls, Lovino was finished, he arched off the bed, moaning loudly, as his cock squirted ribbons of cum on his stomach. The Spaniard pulled out, falling half on top of his lover.
And slowly, as Lovino came down from his high, he slowly opened his eyes. "Fuuuck, get off me, you fatass."
He rolled off with a groan, pulling Lovino to his chest and holding him tight. "Well, how was our first living together fuck? I thought it was amazing. Definitely have to get you to speak more Italian next time." Antonio gave a small yawn, wanting to fall asleep.
Lovino grunted, tucking his head into the crook of Antonio's neck. "As long as you're prepared to return the favor," he mumbled sleepily, and grasped blindly for Antonio's hand before falling into a light, gentle slumber.
.oOo.
Antonio had just thrown away the last box that had held Lovino's things, they were all finally unpacked and where they wanted them. He smiled over to the brunet, who was sitting on the couch, doing work on his phone again. "Well, that's it, then!"
The young Italian snorted. He tilted his head just slightly toward Antonio when he pressed his mouth to Lovino's cheek and sighed. "Not quite. We'll need to pack. You should probably get enough clothes packed to last a week, just in case."
"What are you talking about? We just unpacked all your stuff." He sat down on the couch beside him, leaning against the arm rest and putting his legs over Lovino's lap.
Lovino shoved them off and crossed his own. "We'll be flying to Italy in a couple of days."
Antonio shot up, his eyes wide. "Italy? Me and you? You planned a romantic getaway to Italy! Oh Lovi! That's so wonderful! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He started thinking of all the things they could do together, halted only by Lovino's snort.
"Not even close." With a few more taps he tossed the phone onto the sofa beside him and glanced in Antonio's direction. "Family reunion. Obligatory."
"Oh, really? Well that should be fun! I get to meet your family! Wow, in Italy! But, even if it's a reunion, we can still make it a romantic getaway." Antonio said, sliding close to him, cupping Lovino's face in his hand. "It'll be amazing."
"Maybe," came Lovino's surly reply, even as he closed his eyes for a kiss. His phone buzzed beside him and he allowed for another short moment of affection before pulling back to check it with a sigh.
The Spaniard stood up to let him work. "I'll start packing for us. This is going to be so fun!" And, perhaps it would be the perfect opportunity he was looking for.
"Hurry back," Lovino said, glancing up. "It's almost time for a nap, and I'm comfortable right where I am."
Antonio grinned over his shoulder and went into the room. He took out two things of luggage, and looked for a secret pocket that would be secure. In his own, he figured the inside pocket would do well, so he went to his sock drawer, grabbed what he was looking for, and put the small box in the pocket before zipping it up.
.oOo.
"Lovino!"
Blinking, Lovino turned away from Antonio, who kept a lookout for their bags. His eyes searched through the crowded, bustling luggage area, and smiled when a pair of arms waved above the sea of people. Detaching himself from Antonio's side, Lovino followed the excited voice until his mother finally made her way into his arms. "Hi, Mama."
"Oh it's been so long! It's too bad you and Feliciano didn't come on the same flight, he'll still be a few days. Oh you have to introduce me to this man I've heard so much about!" She spoke almost as quickly as Feliciano, and just as excitedly.
Lovino glanced over his shoulder and smiled briefly. Then he heaved a long-suffering sort of sigh and kissed his mother's cheeks. "Well, I might as well introduce you two. Come on."
Antonio was just grabbing one of their bags as they approached him. He turned around and grinned at the lady. "You must be Ms. Vargas! It's so nice to finally meet you! Wow, I can see where Lovi gets his looks from."
She tutted at him but smiled brightly all the same. Lovino just rolled his eyes. "Mama, don't listen. He's as big of a flirt as Grandpa."
"He'll fit right in then," she said with a little wink. Holding out a delicately manicured hand, she scooped up one of the duffel bags stacked on the handles, despite protests from the two. "The car is parked just outside."
Antonio followed them out, amazed at the sights there were to see. They drove for a while till they reached the vineyard, and he was practically plastered to the window the whole time. "This is amazing, it's so beautiful here!"
Lovino's mother smiled proudly, content to go on in her lilting Italian cadence about how well the vineyard was tended, how sweet the wine, and to Antonio's amusement, he discovered that Lovino was asleep. He probably had been for some time. He leaned back in the car, and gently moved Lovino so he was resting against him in a more comfortable position. He had grown very good at not waking him up when he didn't want to. "He didn't sleep at all on the plane," he explained easily.
"Poor thing," she sighed, her dark brown eyes moving over her son's relaxed form. "He's always been afraid of flying. It was terrible. We traveled so much when he was a child. And he does it so frequently now." She sighed. "It always makes traveling for business all the more stressful for him."
"Yeah, he was pretty tense. Hardly said a word the whole time we were up." Antonio smiled down to him, running his fingers through his hair in a way that always soothed him. "How much longer till we get there, do you think?"
"Only five minutes or so," she answered, and sneaking a glance out the window, pointed. Atop the highest hill of the massive, sprawling vineyard sat an estate the size of the courthouse in Antonio's hometown.
His eyes went wide at the size. How could anyone need a mansion that big? "Wow, that's huge! And it looks really old too. When was it built?"
"Oh, you will have to ask my father," she said, leaning back in the seat comfortably. "It's his summer home. But you may wish to keep your questions short and to the point. He does... go on."
Antonio chuckled at that. "Luckily, I love listening to stories." The car came to a stop, and he wondered if he should wake Lovino up or just try to carry him. But the choice was taken from him as the man blinked his eyes open and yawned.
"Hey," he sighed sleepily against Antonio's ear as his mother stepped elegantly from the car. "Let's go to the room and nap."
"Sounds good." Antonio got out of the car first, and waited for Lovino. Two men from the house came and grabbed all of their bags, and Ms. Vargas led them to their rooms so they could have their nap.
Lovino tossed their bags carelessly onto the floor at the foot of their (ridiculously enormous) bed and toed off his shoes before hopping in and curling up atop the blankets.
Antonio rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the smaller blankets, throwing it on top of him. "Just because you're too lazy doesn't mean you have to go cold." Then he curled up next to him, also under the spare blanket.
The Italian made a little grumbling noise and settled against Antonio, sticking his nose into the dip of Antonio's collar. "Shhh. Shh. Naptime." They had fallen to the gentle lull of drowsiness, but just as Antonio was nearly asleep, the door was thrown open and a tall man entered unannounced.
"Lovi! You didn't come see me when you got here!"
Growling more furiously than Antonio had heard him being in many months, Lovino grabbed one of the many ornate pillows and chucked it over Antonio's body at the door. "Go away! I'm trying to get a fucking nap in here!"
The older man caught the pillow before it hit him. "But it's already past siesta time! Come give your Grandpa a big hug! And then you must try this new wine we started, it's simply delicious!" He walked into the room, taking the blanket off them.
Antonio could feel rage coming off of Lovino in waves. Stubbornly, the young man stayed curled up in bed, shutting his eyes. "Go bug Francis or something, fuck. I haven't slept in forever. I'm exhausted. I will raid your gun cabinet if you don't give me until dinner to sleep, you old-ass fart."
Lovino's grandfather started pouting, and didn't look like he wanted to leave. Antonio pushed Lovino's shoulder a little. "Come on, let's go with him for a while. You can go back to sleep right after dinner, how about that?" The older man perked up and Lovino glared so furiously that, if Antonio was not used to it, he thought his skin might have started to peel.
"I. Am not. Moving. From this fucking bed until dinner. Do you understand me?"
Roma looked sad again, but then glanced at Antonio. "Alright, Lovi, you can sleep. I'll take your boyfriend on a tour of the vineyard then!" He grabbed the Spaniard's hand and tugged him out of them bed, hard.
"Close the door on your way out," Lovino called, and settled as the large door to the ornate guest room slammed shut.
Three hours later, Antonio sighed as he pushed open the door to their room, finally having been let go by Roma. They had been all around the whole vineyard, and it was beautiful, but it was so big. He looked in the room, and found Lovino reading on the bed. "Hey. You're not still sleeping?"
Lovino shrugged, scowling over at Antonio from under the covers. "Normally, you snore loud enough to drown everything else out," he said, "but since you were gone, people walking by in the halls kept waking me up. I'm exhausted."
He laughed and went to sit beside him. "Well, too bad. They'll be calling us for dinner in like ten minutes. Do you want to change into something else?" He gestured to the wrinkled clothes Lovino was wearing from his nap.
Rolling his eyes, Lovino flopped over onto his side. "No point. I'm gonna shower after dinner anyway. And then I'm going to hit this glorious sack. You'd better not run off on me this time."
"Of course I won't, because my Lovi can't sleep without me," Antonio cooed, hugging him tightly before he was pushed away.
"Whatever," Lovino sniffed. "You left me for my grandfather, you big pussy. I just need your snoring to drown everyone else out."
He rolled his eyes and let Lovino out of the bed. "Well how could I say no to him? He just wanted time with his grandson, and you were being mean. He's not that bad, you know."
"I love him and all, but he really knows how to ruin a motherfucker's nap." Lovino smoothed down his hair in the mirror and tucked in his shirt with a little sigh. "Okay," he said, nodding in Antonio's direction. "Let's go eat."
The dinner was fairly small, because they were some of the first to arrive. Luckily they could mostly sit where they wanted, and Lovino chose to sit away from his grandfather, so Antonio followed him. The Italian practically devoured his food, telling Antonio to do the same so he could go back up to bed.
"You're going to swallow your tongue if you keep eating like that," Esmeralda fretted from across the table, her delicate brow furrowed in worry. Lovino paused and obediently began to pace himself, taking one careful bite at a time to appease her.
"It's good that you still listen to your mother," Roma said boisterously to Lovino's left. The young man's complacent features hardened at that and he tilted his face up toward the woman across.
"So did you know that Grandpa has taken to rudely interrupting people in their private suites?" he said with a conversational sort of bite.
The old man gasped from across the table. "Well did you know that your son didn't even come to say hello to me? I couldn't wait, it's been at least two months since I've seen him!"
She chuckled and shook her head. "You two are at it again I see." Esmeralda looked to Antonio and leaned in like she was going to give him a big secret. "They've always butted heads, even since Lovino was a little boy. Hopefully when Feliciano gets here, it will give them something else to fret about."
"He doesn't fret over Feliciano," Lovino scoffed, glancing at the old man out of the corner of his eye. "He sort of... latches on to him. Like an unsightly virus."
Antonio tried to stop any fight from happening, so he took away Lovino's wine glass. "Alright, I think you've had enough of this. Maybe I should get you back to bed, hey?"
But it seemed it was too late, as Roma frowned at him. He said some quick words in Italian that Antonio could only guess at, but the shade Lovino's face turned was quite obvious.
The young man's retort was quick and sharp, and his mother looked startled across the table, but Lovino stood. "Yeah, let's go. Goodnight, Mama." He nodded toward Esmeralda and sent a curt glance toward Roma before moving swiftly from the room.
Antonio sighed at not being able to finish his dinner, but stood up anyway. "Um, the food was really good, thank you." He quickly ran out the door after Lovino, grabbing his arm to stop him just outside the dining room. "Are you two always like that?"
"No," Lovino growled in response, jerking his arm back and resuming his quick pace. "Normally, I avoid that smug face as often as possible."
He rolled his eyes, walking behind him. "I don't really see the problem. He seems like a nice guy, mostly." And Antonio definitely wouldn't want to get on his bad side.
Lovino's spine visibly stiffened before his pace quickened. "Yeah, well, you would."
"Oh, don't be like this, Lovi. Remember the deal: you have to talk to me, tell me what's troubling you." They got to their room, and Lovino was opening the door, but Antonio slammed it shut and stood against it. "You don't get along with him, I get that. But you seem to be taking it pretty hard."
"I am not going to do this in the fucking hallway," he hissed, stubbornly facing the door despite Antonio's attempts to turn his attention. "Back off. This has nothing to do with you."
He sighed and opened the door, because Lovino was right, the hallway wasn't the place to talk. "You can't push me away. I won't let you, and you know how persistent I can be," Antonio said with a smile, trying to soften him up a bit.
"Stop it. I'm not going to just fucking fold because you smile and give me those eyes. Fuck you. I'm going to have a shower and I'm going to sleep until noon." He lifted his suitcase from the floor and dropped in onto the bed, rifling through the layers of shirts to grab a pair of underwear.
But when he turned to go to the bathroom, Antonio was standing in his way, arms crossed. "Lovi, when we got together, you agreed that you would talk to me about this stuff and I would make it better. I could withhold sex or something."
He stared blankly at the ceiling. "Yeah, and you also told me you were going to be a manipulative little shit and flirt with other people. Because all of that's gone great so far."
"But it's the nice kind of manipulation. And, it's just flirting, I don't cheat. Need I remind you?" He asked, pointing to the tattoo. Antonio lifted a hand and put it on Lovino's shoulder. "Come on, it's not like I'm going to laugh or tell anyone. This will be just between us, alright?"
"No!" Lovino put a hand on the doorknob and glared right at the door. "I don't have to say anything I don't want to say, Antonio. So back the fuck up."
Antonio sighed and dropped his hands, stepping aside. "You know what, fine, keep everything bottled up, and act like a character in some stupid teenage love story. But you will have to learn eventually that you aren't alone, and there is someone here willing and very able to help you." He turned around and walked to the bed, searching through his own suitcase.
The bathroom door slammed and the lock clicked and the shower began to run.
It ran for quite some time, much longer than Lovino normally showered, and when he finally left the bathroom, he ignored Antonio completely in favor of curling up on his side of the bed.
The Spaniard also didn't say anything, knowing that at this point, anything he said would be met with even more resistance. Lovino did like to stay in his moods for a while, once he got in them. Antonio turned the page of his book, glancing over at him.
This continued for nearly half an hour, Antonio glancing at his lover after every page or so. The tense lines in Lovino's shoulders never faded or relaxed, and eventually he turned off the light to avoid staring at him.
Finally, Antonio put his book down and turned off the light. He really didn't want them to go to sleep if Lovino was still acting like this. So, Antonio rolled over,and kissed the bare shoulder peeking out of the covers. "I don't want us to fight. Kiss and make up?" He had no intention of apologizing, because he hadn't actually done anything wrong, but he could compromise and stop pushing for the brunet to talk about his problem.
"I'm trying to sleep," grumbled Lovino tetchily. "Not that I expect you to understand, since you seem so fucking incapable of reading me."
"Look, I won't ask you about you and your Grandfather anymore. Isn't that what you wanted? But we are not spending the rest of the trip fighting." He reached up and rubbed Lovino's neck the way he liked, wanting him to turn around but not about to force him.
A little huff followed, but Antonio could feel the tension begin to ease from Lovino's body. He didn't turn around, but he didn't push Antonio away, either. "Fine."
He was thankful that Lovino finally let it go, but he still didn't want to go to sleep like this. "Fine? That's all I get? That's not fair." The smile in his voice was obvious, showing that he was once again joking around, and Antonio then licked the back of Lovino's ear, teasing him.
"That's all you're gonna get!" Lovino snapped, shoving his face away. "I'm still mad at you. I'm going to stay mad until morning because I didn't get my nap. You can hug me if you want, but I get to stay like this until tomorrow."
Antonio sighed dramatically. "Oh Lovi, you break my heart." But he still wrapped his arms around his torso, bringing Lovino against his chest. Normally they cuddled face to face, but he could settle for spooning.
And of course, just like that, Lovino was out like a light in minutes. His deep, even breathing and gentle heartbeat slowly, slowly lulled Antonio to sleep just so.
Sorry for any possible mistakes, I started like falling asleep half way through. This waking up early thing sucks.