Chapter Ten
It Won't Be Like That
Lovino was early. Far too early in his opinion to look anything less than desperate. He scoffed at himself, pulling out the letter that had somehow made its way into his pocket. No more had come and really Lovino hadn't been expecting any more. If he was truly honest, this handwritten page was more than enough, but why he felt the need to bring it with him everywhere, even to school, the past couple of days, was beyond him. What he did know was that he had felt empty without it and in the end always had it folded into his pocket whenever he left the house.
Of course, today was no different, as was proven by the fact that he was shoving it once more into his pocket out of sight only to have it in his grasp minutes later. It had almost become a nervous habit that he pull it out and unfold it, even if he never read it. Fingering the already worn page had a calming sense as he glanced at the clock and realized there was only a few minutes left before Antonio's plane landed.
Shoving the letter into his back pocket he grumbled to himself. The last thing he wanted was to let Antonio see him clinging to the letter like a child to their security blanket. No, it would be bad enough if Antonio found out that he kept it around in the first place.
Sighing, he began to pace slightly, watching the minutes tick down. He should never had offered to come, make the bastard come running to him for once. If anything, he shouldn't have tried so hard to convince his parents to let him come alone. Still, the decisions were made and now here he was with the plane surely landed, letter back in hand before he had realized he had grabbed it, pacing the open area by the baggage claim.
Right on cue, people started filing down the hall to the area where he was standing. He counted, peering over heads and around shoulders in an attempt to find that bright smile.
14….15…16, 17, 18…. Antonio.
The numbers shifted easily into a name as Lovino caught sight of the Spanish man. Lovino took a deep breath and for a long moment and just stared. Antonio had yet to notice him and while he longed to be seen, to see the laughing eyes that currently looked away trained on him, he was afraid to call out, voice caught in his throat.
When Antonio finally turned and looked at him, Lovino could see his chest swell with a deep breath and his face lit up with a smile brighter than Lovino had ever seen in his time of knowing him. F
For several endless seconds they just stood there, Lovino looking almost scared, Antonio smiling like he had sunshine stored around in his pockets. It took a bit but Lovino finally realized that Antonio had stopped walking towards him and just stood there smiling. The idiot, why did he stop?
Lovino's mouth fell open slightly as the Spaniard dropped his bags as spread his arms in a welcoming gesture.
The Italian all but scoffed, turning his head and crossing his arms. Did he really expect this to be like some romantic comedy where he went racing across the airport like some love stricken damsel idiot, to be swept into the arms of the man she loved? No way, he was far from any damsel and like hell was he going to be making a scene. It had only been two weeks dammit!
Still, when he finally looked back, Antonio had not changed. There he stood, continuing to smile, continuing to wait with open, warm and welcome arms. But that was it, wasn't it? Antonio would always be there, waiting patiently, always welcome, always warm. Always just for him, a bastard that didn't think he could love or be loved in return.
Suddenly, Lovino dropped his arms, the worn letter fluttering to the ground beside his feet as he rushed forward. The minute he had his face buried in Antonio's shoulder he felt arms close around him and he was filled with a warmth he never realized he was missing. A warmth that the letter had seemed to fill him with before but it never reached the level he was feeling now.
He took a deep breath, letting himself live in the moment, letting himself get sentimental for once. When Antonio placed a kiss to the top of his head he didn't move, didn't say a word. And when Antonio leaned down and whispered, "I'm home" happily, gently into his ear, he knew that it was true.