"Look, give that here, I'll do it. You're going to end up hurting yourself."
"Fine- Ow! Be careful, it's pretty tight as it is. Too small."
"Your hands are really big, you know that, right?"
"What does that even mean?"
"Stop fidgeting, I swear to God you arse, or I'll end up strangling you."
"Don't be mean, Lovi, you wouldn't- OW!" Antonio pouted, but stopped twitching under Lovino's hands.
"See, I told you I would." Lovino, a smug smile scrunching his nose as he finished fiddling with the material of Antonio's tie, took a step back and flicked a glance up and down his handy work. "Good enough, I suppose. I'd get you in a better suit, but... You look... okay in this. It's only a party."
"Lovi, you know I can't afford an... an armani suit, or something!" Antonio pulled self consciously on the knot of the black tie where it pressed snugly into his neck. He shuffled on one foot, avoiding Lovino's eyes and trying to ignore the designer label of Lovino's own suit.
Lovino's smile dropped into a frown and he huffed, resting a hand on his cocked hip. "I said you'd do with what you've got. And, it'd only end up getting filthy on the floor."
"On the...?"
Lovino raised one eyebrow, hip still cocked.
A flash of understanding hit Antonio.
"Oh, Lovi, that's... Really?" He felt his cheeks flush at Lovino's insinuation and his imagination threw a veritable river of white-hot images at his mind: of Lovino peeling the suit off his skin, tugging hard on the tie and dragging him down into a kiss, Lovino sprawled across the bed in only the now crumpled dress shirt he'd been so meticulous in ironing only minutes before...
He shook his head and brought himself back down to earth before he embarrassed himself any more. The pair were late enough for Lovino's cousin's birthday party as it was, and Lovino's flirting was not helping them go any faster. Not that he wasn't enjoying Lovino's attention in the slightest.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Lovino straightened the knot of Antonio's tie one last time, then spun on one heel and really, Antonio couldn't quite contain his thirst as his ass swayed in those stupid, stupid suit trousers. He had the distinct feeling that this was going to be a very trying evening.
By the time they had piled themselves into the awaiting cab outside, figured out exactly where the party was being held in the first place and then located the money to pay the driver, they were half an hour late. By the time they had stopped, paid the driver and Lovino had fixed Antonio's tie for the fourth time, they were an hour late and Antonio was dreading the stares he was going to be inflicted with for turning up late for the first outing he'd been on with Lovino.
What a brilliant first impression I'm about to make, Antonio thought bitterly. Lovino caught the frown on his face and bumped his shoulder with his own.
"Stop worrying. It's not a huge sit-down meal or anything, it's just music and a bar. There's loads of people coming, no-one'll even notice us."
"I'd be surprised if everyone's there, after... last week."
"Why wouldn't they be?" Lovino furrowed his brow, head cocked to the side.
Antonio shrugged. "The fire. People might not have a home – I don't, technically-"
"I told you, you have a home when you're staying with me. Stop worrying about it." said Lovino, voice soft on the last sentence. "Let's just go inside, have a dance, then... then let's come home and fuck like rabbits, okay?" Antonio flushed up to his hair line but grinned and nodded, avoiding Lovino's eyes.
"Um, yeah. Okay, Lovi."
The party was just as Lovino had described. Located in the surprisingly spacious back room of a local pub, tables with fold out chairs and platters of food were pushed against the walls and a DJ sat with his feet propped up onto his deck. Music blared from the speakers and swirling lights sent colourful patterns across the makeshift dance floor in the centre of the room. The bar was manned by a rather more flustered barmaid, whose red hair-bows didn't appear to be doing anything useful to stop her hair falling into her face.
It took Antonio an hour of stressed knee jiggling and tie adjusting before he calmed down enough to drink his cider. But as Lovino had promised, the party was large enough that no-one other than Bella and a young man so plastered in yellow confetti that he had to be the birthday man (who was introduced as 'this dick is Abel, he won't bite unless you mock his bunny tattoo') noticed them enter the room, and no-one else bothered them except for people he knew, or at least vaguely knew of, anyway. Lovino's brother came over from the dance floor with a muscled blonde girl on his arm who towered above him. Antonio was more than a little intimidated by the woman, who nearly broke his hand with her handshake. Her name was Monika, and she was a rugby player, preened an incredibly tipsy Feliciano.
There was another woman however, sat with a friend at the bar, who jogged something small but somehow significant in Antonio's memory. He couldn't place where he knew her from, but he was sure he remembered her from somewhere. A scrappy ponytail hung down her back and her shoes were duct taped together, but her eyes were sharp under her glasses and her laugh loud, brusque and confident.
Lovino noticed his staring at her from over the top of his drink and leant in to whisper in his ear. It was easier than shouting over the music.
"You know her? You look confused." Antonio frowned and took a sip.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. She's familiar though. Maybe she's in one of my classes..."
"Could be." Lovino tapped the edge of his own glass and, after a moment of hesitation and a blink, pressed a kiss to Antonio's hair. Antonio started, then smiled.
"You get cuddly when you're drunk, don't you?" Lovino pouted and turned away.
"No! No way. Never. No cuddles." Antonio smiled into his cider, and said nothing. He watched the party goers go about their partying around him, just enjoying talking in low voices with Lovino, whose running, mostly biting commentary of every single person that walked past never failed to amuse him.
"She's a bitch, that one. Those heels are knives, I bet you."
"He ate a deep fried Mars Bar in Scotland on a bet with a mad Scotsman called fucking Scott and then threw up on the guy's shoes. Never see him run so fast."
"Fucking nutjob, he can't even tie his own shoe laces without coming up with some elaborate tale of how he wrestled a shark while he did it."
"He fucks sheep. But not literally. I don't think."
"She's gayer than you are, and that's saying something-"
"I, I actually like girls physically as well, Lovi. I just only date other men." Antonio said quietly.
"Oh, you're not gay? Huh, bi then?" At Antonio's nod, Lovino grinned. "Me too. Oh wait, you see that girl in the pink heels? She can't-"
Antonio gasped, and Lovino span around to look at him in worry.
"What? Are you okay?" Antonio flapped a hand in dismissal, but kept his eyes trained on the pink heels. It was just out of reach, but if he could just think, he could remember-
"I know who she is, the girl by the bar! She was with Francis at the club, the night before..." He trailed off, remembering exactly what had happened the morning after the night at the club. Lovino didn't need to ask when he meant.
"Not that exciting then?" He asked instead.
"Nah, but it was annoying me, and now I know."
"Good. Now, come dance with me. I'm drunk and I like this song and I want you to dance."
Lovino sat his glass on the table and pulled Antonio up by the forearm, who wasn't resisting in the slightest. They jostled for a space on the dance floor, away from the groups of people dancing in circle, all facing each other. Instead, Antonio wrapped his arms around Lovino's waist, whilst Lovino entwined his fingers in the short hairs at the back of Antonio's neck, and they swayed together to the thrum of the music under the lights and the hazy happiness of the alcohol buzz.
Antonio decided he didn't mind not knowing anyone at this party. He had Lovino here, he had a place to stay for later and he had his friends beside him, and that was all he needed to be content.
He wouldn't remember the bruises on his toes from Lovino's tipsy swaying in a week anyway.
AN - OVER 3K HITS OH. MY. GOD. Thank you so much to every single person who has read this.
This is the last main chapter. Just an epilogue left, then I'm done.