o.o did you guys not like the last chapter? sorry, lol, I have the same amount of hits, but there was a sudden drop in reviews ... oh well lol ^_^ I hope you guys like this one~
And thank you to the new reviewers~
also, 200+ reviews~!
NekoRoma
Chapter Sixteen: What Does It Mean?
He awoke coughing and sweating and crying and everything that came with his nightly routine. Antonio groggily woke up and cursed, realizing he forgot Lovino's water. Lovino cried out in pain as he coughed harder than he had before.
When he finally caught his breath, he took a deep one and swallowed, noticing the metallic taste in his mouth again. He groaned and tried to swallow it away. Antonio walked back in the room with the water and handed it to Lovino.
"What's that …?" Antonio asked, grabbing Lovino's hand instead of letting him have the water. Lovino looked down and saw a discolored spot on his hand. Antonio flipped on his lamp and gasped. Lovino's hand, lips and chin were covered in blood.
"You're coughing up blood!" Antonio whimpered. He handed Lovino the glass and frowned.
"So what?" he wheezed, drinking down the water to rid himself of the awful taste of blood in his mouth. The urge to cough subsided and he set the glass down.
"So? So we can't take you to the doctor because of your ears and tail … we can't take you to a vet because you're mostly human …"
Antonio got up to grab a wet cloth and slowly cleaned up Lovino's hand and chin.
Lovino glared, "I'll be fine … this is the first time, maybe it was just because I coughed too hard … seriously, stop worrying, okay?"
The Spaniard frowned, but nodded. Maybe Lovino was right … but why was he coughing like that in the first place?
Lovino muttered a good night and rolled over. Antonio watched him go back to sleep in silence … maybe Lovino had some sort of disease? He wished he could just take him to the hospital.
He finally laid back down and stared at Lovino's back. He couldn't lose him …
The next morning, he awoke to a loud knocking on his door and cursing to follow. Antonio pushed out of bed and made his way to the door to peer out. His boss was standing at the door with two others beside him.
He groaned, not wanting to deal with his boss so early in the morning, but opened up the door anyway, "Ludwig? Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Seven eighteen, and we have a bit of a problem."
"Ve~! Tonio!" one of the two others tackled the man in a hug. He looked down surprised at the auburn haired man hugging him. He looked up with his honey colored eyes and smiled, "I did it! I became human!"
"Feli?"
"Ve~! Yup~! Where's Lovi? I wanna show him, too!" Feliciano let go of Antonio, just as Lovino sleepily walked from the room.
"What the hell is going on out here, bastard?" Lovino growled, rubbing his eyes.
"LOVI~!" Feliciano tackled the other man to the ground and nuzzled his cheek, "Look! I became human, too! You were right! All I had to do was make a wish!"
Lovino looked up confused, but he recognized the curl and the honey colored eyes, "Damn it, Feliciano! Get off of me!"
Ludwig and Gilbert walked into the house. Antonio was grinning.
"Romano, huh?" Gilbert grinned, "You didn't get rid of Lovino, did you?"
Antonio blushed, "No … I woke up a week ago and he was like this … wait … why doesn't Feliciano have cat ears … or a tail?"
Feliciano sat up on his knees, from wrestling a hug out of his brother, "Ve~! I wondered the same thing! Lovi is just special~!"
Lovino glared and held his tail against his chest, "Shut up! Jerk!" he pushed himself off the ground and curled up on the couch.
Ludwig looked Lovino over, "I'll be damned … this is …"
"What the hell are you looking at, potato bastard?" Lovino snapped, turning away, "I'll fucking kick your ass …" the German man looked taken aback, "That's Lovino, alright … same anger and attitude … Antonio can you please explain what's going on and why my cat is human. All he kept talking was nonsense about Arthur, Antonio and seeing Lovino."
"Lovino wished on a star about a week ago … wanting to be human … when he woke up, he looked just like his does now. He told Feliciano about it … so I guess Feli wished to be human, too … Arthur is apparently the angel that grants these wishes."
Ludwig looked at his employee like the man was insane, but if he hadn't seen Feliciano human, he wouldn't have believed him.
"I see." Ludwig frowned, "Well … I'll get out of your hair … I have to figure out what to do with Feliciano …"
Antonio nodded, "It was good seeing you again, Feli~! Come by any time~!"
Feliciano made that weird 've' noise and hugged his brother again before jumping off the couch to attach himself to Ludwig's arm.
Lovino frowned at the sight, but was glad they were all finally gone. Now he could go back to sleep, "There. He's human and happy … I got to see him … I'm going back to bed …"
"But … Lovi … aren't you the least bit curious as to why you're not a full human like he is?" Antonio frowned.
The Italian shrugged, "Maybe something's wrong with me." he walked into the room and laid down on the bed. It's not like he was jealous that his brother and Herakles did something right to make them fully human … maybe he didn't wish it right … maybe fate just hated him. Maybe he just wasn't meant to stay with Antonio.
He closed his eyes tight, feeling the bed shift as Antonio crawled back into his spot, "Lovi … are you okay? If it makes you feel better, it doesn't matter to me if you're a cat, a human or this mixture of both, you're still my Lovi and I'm glad you're here with me …"
Lovino felt his heart skip a beat, but he didn't answer. He just closed his eyes tightly, willing his blush to go away.
He awoke an hour or two later, sprawled out on the bed. His head throbbed lightly, but he sat up and looked around. The smell of Antonio's omlettes wafted through the air and Lovino's mouth began to water. Completely forgetting his small headache, the Italian made his way into the living room to look for Antonio.
Said Spaniard was standing in the kitchen, flipping the omlette onto a plate, "Lovi~! How did you sleep? Quite the excitement this morning, huh?"
Lovino sleepily nodded, recalling his brother had finally fulfilled his dreams and became human. Fully human. That brought insecurities back. He frowned to himself. Why wasn't he fully human? Feliciano could walk into public wearing anything he pleased. He looked into the mirror and saw a human face, with human ears and human teeth.
While Lovino hated being human … he'd want to stay that way. As a cat … he'd only live about twelve human years, only about ten more. As a human … he could have so many more. He knew Antonio had already been alive for twenty-five or so … according to what he'd heard. Antonio was also in his prime! Who knows how long the man would live! However … that wasn't the only reason Lovino would prefer to be human. In this form … he wouldn't have to worry about being given away. He could also go wherever he wanted without much worry.
He could also stay with Antonio and his brother. They would always be friends … or … he hoped they would. Antonio had been the only person to actually give him a chance.
The omlette was set before him and he muttered unintelligible thank yous and began eating. It was much better than the one he'd had at the cafe and he smiled softly, finishing it up quickly.
"Did you like it, Lovi~?" Antonio asked, watching Lovino put the plate away.
Lovino blushed, "It wasn't terrible …" he sat back down.
Antonio smiled, "I'm glad you liked it~" he put his plate away, "So what do you want to do this Saturday?"
The Italian shrugged and let his head rest on the counter. He closed his eyes and yawned.
"How about we just stay in and watch some movies? Or maybe we can go out to the mall and look around for stuff~ oh~! I can finally teach you to read~!" Antonio happily clapped his hands together and began listing everything they would need to continued Lovino's lessons.
A few minutes later, Lovino found himself sitting on the living room floor, books of all sorts, as well as markers, pens, copy paper and … gold star stickers?
Antonio sat behind Lovino, his arms around him, reaching out for a book with letters and pictures, something simple and used for children learning to read.
"Okay, this is A. you know this one already," Antonio opened to the first page, ignoring Lovino's huff of annoyance, "A is for …?"
"Apple … this is easy. You taught me all the vowels!"
Antonio smiled, "Okay, okay, what's this one?"
"Um … B! B is for bastard." Lovino glared. Antonio laughed lightly and turned the page.
"C … right?"
"Yeah~!" the Spaniard grinned, hugging Lovino. Lovino blushed, "C is for?"
"Uh … c-cat?"
"Perfect~!" Antonio reached over and peeled a star off the page and stuck it on Lovino's hand. Lovino looked at it, "I'm not a child …"
"Continue~?"
"I … I don't know this one …" he frowned, his heart skipped a beat sadly.
"You do~ I know you can remember~!"
Lovino bit his lip and recalled the sequence of ABC's in his head, "D?"
"Yes~! Oh my Lovi is so smart! What word begins with D?" Antonio looked at Lovino. The former cat looked back at him, "D-dog?"
"Sí~!" Antonio put another gold star on Lovino's hand.
Lovino stared down at the stars and blushed.
"Okay now … this one?" Lovino felt Antonio's breath on his neck and shoulder and subconsciously leaned back against the man's chest.
"E. Egg. F. Fuck. G. Girl." he spouted the next three letters. Antonio smiled and rested his chin on Lovino's shoulder, grabbed another star and pressed it to Lovino's cheek. Lovino smiled, trying to look at it.
Antonio flipped to the letter H, "Okay, getting farther. This one?"
"H … um … huh … huh …" Lovino mimicked the noise H made, "Hello?"
The Spaniard smiled brightly and pressed a star onto Lovino's nose. Lovino went cross eyed, causing Antonio to laugh. The Italian found his laughter to be infectious and laughter bubbled up from Lovino as well. This made Antonio's heart swell and he laughed, hugging Lovino close, "So cute~! And so smart~! Okay, this next letter is …?"
"I …" Lovino grinned, "Italy~!"
Antonio nodded, "And this one?"
Lovino looked at the curved line and frowned. This letter didn't register with him. Why didn't he recognize it?
"I … I don't know …"
"You sure, Lovi?" Antonio urged slightly.
With a nod, Lovino felt his heart drop. He hated disappointing Antonio, but Antonio just smiled, "That's okay~ this is J, for jelly or joy~!"
Lovino blushed at how close Antonio was as he turned the page, "And this one?"
Hazel eyes continued staring at Antonio's face, a dark blush covering his cheeks. He noticed the way Antonio's lips twisted up ever so slightly all the time. He always seemed happy. Lovino glanced at the letter, "K."
His eyes darted back to Antonio to watch his mouth, with always seemed so entertaining as they formed the letters and words, "What words begin with K?"
"Kiss …" Lovino whispered with out missing a beat.
Antonio's eyes met his and Antonio blushed, "Wh-what was that, Lovi~?"
Lovino turned his head away, "K-kids … I said kids … that's right, right?"
The Spaniard frowned slightly, but nodded, "Yeah, that's right … um … this letter?"
Looking down at it, Lovino no longer felt like practicing his letters. His heart was racing. How could he say something like that? He didn't want Antonio to kiss him! Did he? The mere thought of Antonio's lips being pressed against his made his heart race and skip beats and thump wildly. He wanted it … he really wanted it … It seemed to make people happy to kiss. To press their lips together, to taste one another, to mold together softly. To become one. Lovino sighed softly, wishing he'd taken his chance to get Antonio to kiss him … just so he could see why people liked it so much!
"Lovi?"
"L … for … love …" Lovino blushed again. Why the hell was this making him blush so much?
"R-right … and … th-this one?" Antonio stuttered, leaning away from Lovino slightly. Lovino felt his heart skip a beat sadly. He didn't want Antonio to move away.
"M … for mistake …"
"Oh … um … good."
"N for nuisance … O for obscene … P for pain …"
"Lovi …?" Antonio touched Lovino's shoulder and Lovino jumped, slightly startled.
He turned to look at Antonio, whom pulled a sticker from the sheet and stuck it to Lovino's hand, "You're doing good …"
"Yeah … Q, quit … R … red … S … s is for … Slut …"
"Where did you here that word?" Antonio asked, his face becoming serious. He didn't like the words Lovino was putting to the letters.
"R … Roderich called me a slut … what does it mean?" Lovino turned and glared.
Antonio frowned, "It's not important …"
Lovino growled, "If it involves me, it's important to me! What the hell does that word mean? Why the hell would he call me that?"
"Drop it, okay?"
"No! I want to fucking know!" Lovino frowned.
"It means whore, harlot, hooker … a slut is someone who sleeps around with anyone they want all the time … he meant it as an insult because he thought we were sleeping together …"
"But we do sleep together, bastard …" Lovino growled. He already knew that's something that Roderich had meant.
Antonio frowned, "No … not that kind of sleeping … um … having sex … m-mating …" he tried putting it into words that Lovino would understand. He must have caught the meaning because his face went bright red and he pushed away from Antonio.
"B-but we're not … I mean … there's no way …" Lovino growled to himself, looking away. They weren't mating! The idea intrigued hi- no! He shook his head. He did NOT want to mate with Antonio!
"Well … he thought so … that's why he broke up with me …" Antonio pushed up off the floor, "I … I think we're done here … um … I'm going to take a nap …"
Lovino watched him walk out of the room. He frowned, not finished talking to him, "We're not done here, bastard!" he jumped up and chased after him.
"Yes, we are, Lovino!"
The former cat winced, but continued to chase Antonio. Why couldn't Lovino just drop it? Why did he feel the need to find out why Antonio was pushing him away all of the sudden?
"What the hell is your problem?"
Antonio turned, his once bright emerald eyes were now dark and acidic, "My problem is you. Ever since you came along, I've had nothing but trouble. You attacked me. You were a terrible pet. You tore up my curtains, couch, stuff. THEN you fuck up my relationship with Roderich once over, and I had the chance to right it and get rid of you, but then you go and fucking turn human and screw everything up again! Roderich left me for good and all I'm left with is a cranky, pissy, freak cat thing!"
Lovino's heart throbbed painfully. His chest constricted and pain racked his body. With a racing mind, Lovino avoided eye contact with Antonio as silence filled the room.
"L-Lovi … I … oh my god … I'm so sorry … didn't-"
"Shut up …" Lovino whispered. Tears brimmed his eyes, "Shut the fuck up. I get it … no one wants me …"
"No! Lovi, that's not it!" Antonio stepped forward. Lovino quickly moved back. His tail whipped back and forth angrily.
"Well … feeling's mutual … I hate you, too! I fucking hate you!" Lovino turned away and grabbed his hat, pulling it on. He pulled the hoodie on and ripped open the door. The Italian slammed the door behind him and began running.
Tears spilled onto his cheeks and he headed into town, with only one place in mind where he could go. He ignored the shouts behind him to turn around and go back. Lovino shot up a middle finger behind him, not even turning back.
I hated writing this chapter ... but I also loved it because of the ABCs scene ...
~Lady Pyrien