T^T the chapters are slowly winding down T^T

ANyways~ This is a special birthday upload for BayBay and Raina~ Happy Birthday you two! I hope it's a wonderful one~

and now i'm laughing because it just happens to be this chapter XD

Kismet

Chapter Forty-Six: Heat Wave

Antonio hadn't been kidding when he'd told Lovino that work would only get harder. Since they no longer had the same duties they did at the castle, Lovino found himself doing odd jobs, none of which were too easy.

On occasion, he'd take the twins and help settle random disputes between the people in the refugee camp, clean, or help Antonio chart newer areas to extend for the growing numbers of people. It had already passed a month and Lovino soon found himself standing between two families.

"I don't care about any of that old bullshit, you stole our food!" an old man shouted. Lovino felt the edges of a headache forming. Romana clutched onto his leg tightly, as she often did when he was settling such disputes. Tristán held the other leg.

"We did not! This food is ours, rightfully given to us through the rations!" the other man countered. Lovino had been listening to their bickering for almost twenty minutes and he was not enjoying any of it. Who would enjoy listening to two men argue over missing food?

"Enough!" Lovino shouted. He picked up Romana, whom was startled by his loud shout, "I don't care if you stole their food or not. I just want this done and over with." he glared at the man who still had food, "You will leave here at once and do not bother them again. At all. Do I make myself clear?" they nodded and turned to head back to the small circle of land they shared. Lovino turned back to the now angrier man.

"What? They steal our food and they are getting aw-"

"I seriously doubt they did it." Lovino hissed. This is one of those many reasons he just hated most men, "This is a time of need, yes. Everyone is just trying to survive, but arguing over it is not fucking helping. Seriously, here's one more ration notice for your family. It should tide you over until rations next week. If this happens again, I can't say much more than learn to hunt. We have little food to go around as it is." the man thanked Lovino and turned to his family.

The queen let out a long sigh and picked up Tristán. Next, he had a meeting with Francis, whom had managed to sneak a visit to them. It had multiple causes. Francis was visiting to finally talk to Antonio about what he was going to gain from helping the Sverran king cleanse Illonia of their dragon and naga problem. On top of that, he was wanting to discuss the possibility of Sverran allying themselves with Fayldyr against Evenna.

Lovino was one hundred percent against any wars or battles, but Antonio was wanting to help his friend out. He reached the tent and found Francis holding Jay talking with Antonio about the most vulgar of subjects.

"And if you just lay back, she can do all the – oh, Lovi~" Francis cooed. Jay clapped her hands, spotting her playmates. Lovino set the children down as did Francis and the three began to play together on the floor. Lovino seated himself beside Antonio and looked up at Francis.

"Have you thought about assisting me yet?" Francis leaned back in his seat. All seriousness coming in his eyes.

Lovino glared lightly. He had wanted to tell the King of Fayldyr to shove it and leave, but if he won the war against Evenna, Sverran would receive quite a few benefits.

Antonio looked at him, his eyes becoming dark, meaning he was in serious mode, too, "Unfortunately, I can not help out." both Lovino and Francis looked shocked, "We're suffering enough from all the money we've been spending on the war against Extyr and against the dragons in Sverran and Illonia.

"If you won the war, yes, we'd receive plenty of gold, but it's not near enough to cover the costs of my own battles. If you lost, which is all too likely with how strong Evenna's new king has been getting, we'd not only be a target in our weakened state, but even weaker from debt." he shifted, "I'm sorry, but I can't do that to my kingdom. The consequences outweigh the benefits marginally."

Francis laughed lightly, "I see, my old friend."

Antonio reached down beside him and grabbed a wooden chest, "As for helping us as you have, I've given you some land as well as gold. It's not much, but you know what kind of pinch we're in right now."

Francis looked over the land agreement and nodded, "It's plenty to pay for my services." they both lightened up and the seriousness melted away and they were soon back to joking and talking about trivial things.

Lovino was glad they weren't going into another war and went to feed the three children on the floor playing. Michelle walked into the tent to help.

Lovino raised his brow, seeing the way she kept stealing glances at her king. A faint blush was on her cheeks. He shook his head and put the children down for their nap. With his free time, he slipped down to a nearby creek to bathe. It was the only place anywhere nearby to get clean or get fresh water for anything.

He happily sunk into the water, which was warm against his body. It had been getting utterly hot outside and it felt nice to just soak in the water. He leaned back against a rock and closed his eyes.

When he finally made it back, he was greeted with a happy Antonio, "Guess what?"

Lovino eyed him, "What?"

Antonio smiled, kissing his forehead, "We'll be able to go back sometime around the twins second birthday~ perhaps sooner! The king of Illonia was unfortunately passed, but we discovered his son (the future king) was in hiding with his mother. Since we saved him, he's offered us partial control over southern Illonia. Not only will we gain the agricultural stimulation for our own, but it will help regulate Illonia once it's been cleaned. And," he grinned, "we'll be able to continue keeping the dragons and naga out of Illonia."

The queen smiled, "That's wonderful news." he leaned into Antonio's touch. It was still about eight months until the twins turned two, but hopefully things would go smoothly.

Lovino should have known better then to think things would stay better. Fires broke out in some areas, forcing occupants out of their shelters. Seven months left until the twins birthday.

The fires had destroyed valuable things, food and clothing … and lives. Thirty-two were found dead in the month the fires were terrorizing people. And with summer getting hotter and hotter, the fires weren't slowing down, luckily people started collecting water in buckets to keep near their tents in case a fire broke out. Death tolls went down greatly.

In August, Fayldyr went to war against Evenna. Francis ended up having to retreat his soldiers from Sverran and Illonia to support his own causes. Less escapees and survivors came in from Illonia each week.

Antonio was steadily getting worried for his friend and getting rather distant from his husband. Lovino fanned Romana's face and pulled Tristán's dress off. It was a particularly hot day and Antonio was still busying himself with making sure Francis was doing okay in the war.

Romana pushed herself up off the floor and stumbled to grab a toy. Tristán decided he wanted it, too and snatched it from her hands, causing her to cry. Lovino sighed. It was too hot to deal with this right now.

But for the first time since he'd been with Antonio, he realized the man was a different person when it was too hot outside and he was under stress.

The acidic green eyes fell on Lovino and instead of love, they held anger, "Shut that brat up right now. I'm trying to get this done."

Lovino was insulted. Romana was just upset. He picked up the child, "Fuck you, bastard. She was just upset … you know what … I'm fucking tired of this shit. You can stay here and worry over your little boyfriend. Come find me when you're ready to stop being such a dick to your children and husband."

He snatched up the babies and decided it was the perfect chance to go for a small swim in the stream. The queen reached the waters and found a really shallow spot and slipped into the water, relishing the coolness of the water on his skin and sat down, dipping the babies in the water. Tristán kicked his legs and giggled, while Romana sat down in the water as well and splashed her hands.

The little girl laughed happily and picked something up out of the water, "Mama, look! Toby!" she held up a little turtle.

Lovino laughed lightly, "That's not your Toby, sweetheart." he tried to make her let go of the poor little thing, but she refused.

After several minutes of splashing the water and cupping his hands to pour the cool water on the twins, he heard a branch close by snap. Lovino growled. He swore if it was Antonio he was going to-

It wasn't Antonio … not even close. He'd never seen a naga up close before, but he knew when you saw a large half snake half human, you shouldn't get too close. The one in front of him eyed the twins hungrily and Lovino bit his lip. He reach to his side and grabbed the dagger from his side, "I don't even think so, slithering bastard! I don't know how you got this far to the west, but I'd suggest you leave!" he yelled in Illonian.

The naga turned to him, "Oh? And jusst who are you to tell me what to do?" it hissed back.

Lovino sidestepped, putting himself in between the snake thing and his babies. He would rather die than let anything touch his children, "The queen of Sverran. I can assure you, slithering bastard, that if you don't leave, I'll be turning you into a pair of pants!"

The naga laughed and shot forward, "I'd love to sssee you try, your majessty." Lovino gasped and took a step back and slashed the blade across the naga's face, leaving a wound across the thing's face. It hissed angrily and it's human face quickly molded to that of a large snake. A long tongue searched the air for the snake's target and when it picked up on Lovino's scent, it launched forward, sinking long fangs into his shoulder. Blood poured from his shoulder and he yelped. His attention went to the twins, just to see them watching in horror as their mama screamed in pain.

He raised the dagger with his left hand and plunged it into the naga's eye. The large snake hissed in pain and pulled back shaking its head, sending Lovino's only weapon flying off a distance and splattering blood all over the rocks.

The queen cringed at the large tooth still embedded in his shoulder. He tried to pull it free, but t he fang held tightly. Pain coursed through his body and he stumbled back and grabbed up Romana and Tristán in one arm and began running towards the refugee camp. His foot twisted on a rock and he gasped, pulling them twins to his chest and he swung his weight to land on his back, protecting the babies from hitting the ground.

Lovino sat up and shook his throbbing head and when his vision regained from the hit he took to the back of his head he saw the naga coming right after him. He pushed himself up and pushed the twins into the bushes for some sort of protection while he rose to his feet to fight the naga. The one fanged snake stopped and hissed, before whipping its tail toward Lovino. He held up his arms and it sent him flying into a tree.

He screamed out in pain and crumpled to the ground. He was in more pain that he'd ever felt before, sure that something had broken when he hit the tree. Lovino's eyes glanced up to see the naga's attention focus on the twins, whom were crying in the bushes, trying to get out.

Lovino formed his lips in a small circle and let out a piercing whistle. The naga turned to look at him, and it hissed looking away.

'Damn it, Ariana …' he thought, shoving off the ground, and stumbling forward. A loud cry answered the whistle, but rather than Ariana, to whom the cry belonged, Antonio rushed forward, with his battle axe in hand. It only took one huge swing from the axe to kill the beast. Its blood splattered all over the trees and Lovino stumbled again, dropping to his knees, "T … took you l-long enough … t-take care of them …" he looked at the crying babies, tears in his own eyes. He smiled lightly and let the darkness over come him.

Antonio looked down at his fallen enemy, his husband and crying children. "Lovi … ?" his eyes widened. Lovino was still breathing, but the huge wound in his shoulder was bleeding uncontrollably. He couldn't … he couldn't leave him here to die, but he couldn't carry all three of them … could he?

He rolled Lovino over and leaned him up in one arm, then he reached forward and pulled the twins on top of Lovino. It was going to be tricky, and he'd have to be careful, but as long as the twins didn't move too much on top of their mama, they wouldn't fall off. Antonio quickly made his way back to the camp, hoping he wouldn't be too late to save Lovino.

Everything happened in a blur, but he set the twins in their crib quickly, before returning to Lovino's side. He grabbed one of the healing potions and poured it down Lovino's throat before pulling the fang from his shoulder.

He grabbed Lovino's hand and bit his lip. Lovino's hand was cold in his and his pulse was faint. Antonio felt tears welling up in his eyes. It was all his fault. He squeezed his husband's hand tightly, willing the weakened heart to pump the healing elixir through Lovino faster. If he hadn't snapped at Lovino … if he hadn't said such an awful thing about their Romana, Lovino wouldn't have been hurt. He wouldn't have been injured. None of this would have happened.

The bleeding stopped and the wound slowly closed up. Antonio felt his heart skip a beat and he couldn't help the hopeful smile that crossed his face. However, Lovino's wounds were healed, albeit slowly, he wasn't waking up.

"L-Lovi?" Antonio whispered gently, "Lovino? Please wake up …" the man remained unresponsive.

The king leaned forward and pressed his lips to Lovino's forehead. He gasped at how hot his skin was. But … Antonio frowned, the mixture should have healed everything. He wondered if it was a bad batch or … perhaps Lovino had become immune to the potion … but … he hadn't used it since the birth of their children …

Antonio's mind flew rampantly from one possibility to the next. When Tristán started fussing, Antonio reluctantly left his husband's side to care for the child. He made a silent promise that he'd never let that dark side slip out around his family again.

Hours passed and Lovino still had not awoken, nor had his fever broken. Antonio had tried everything to wake his love, even if it was to only get him to drink a little bit of water, but nothing worked.

The older man learned that Lovino had it rough as a mother, when the babies began crying for food, or for a change or to play and he was forced to run around in his Lovino's absence.

Night fell and Antonio managed to persuade the twins to sleep and he laid down next to Lovino. If it weren't for the man's shallow breathing … he'd look … Antonio bit his lip, not wanting to think about his Lovino being dead. Lovino's skin was pale and had a light layer of sweat shimmering under the dim light of the oil lamp.

Antonio curled up to Lovino and felt the last of his tears slide down his cheeks. He kissed his love and cringed when Lovino didn't respond. A soft sigh escaped the man's lips and he made sure there was water out in case Lovino awoke in the middle of the night.

The Sverran king was surprised to see Lovino had not moved an inch. He sat up in their little bed and saw Lovino was still breathing. The twins were awake and staring through the wooden bars of their bed at their parents. He found it odd that they hadn't so much as cried to let him know they were awake, but maybe they sensed something was off with their mama. He walked over and picked up the twins to set them beside Lovino.

"Mama!" Romana smiled, crawling across the blankets to latch her little hands onto Lovino's arm. She giggled. Tristán sat where he was for a moment, but moved to the unconscious man and laid his little head down on Lovino's belly.

Antonio felt a pang of guilt at the sight. The children needed Lovino and it was because of him they couldn't have him. He watched and sighed, seeing nothing come from Lovino, despite their daughter slapping his arm lightly. The man reached over and grabbed the twins, which made them start crying, until he handed them a warm bottle of milk each.

"Please wake up …" he begged Lovino, staring at his love's still form.

TBC

on a side note: Nutella.

~Lady Pyrien