Hi, there was some issue apparently, it kept translating it into html code. I'm not sure why; some people thought I uploaded it on my phone but I don't have a smartphone, I just used my computer. I think I've fixed it but please tell me if not. Sorry.
Lovino stepped into Antonio's dorm room gratefully and sank to the floor, leaning against the bed.
"You okay?" Antonio crouched down beside him. Lovino nodded.
"Just a little bit dizzy," he said. Antonio grabbed a bottle of water from his desk and twisted the cap off, handing it to Lovino. He gulped it down.
"Thanks." He wiped his mouth and Antonio could see now in the light the extent of Lovino's injuries. There were scratches on one side of his face, from where his face had been ground into the cement, and Antonio could see little bits of grit still sticking to his skin, in his cuts. His cheekbone was bruised, but apart from that it wasn't too bad. Antonio reached over and stroked Lovino's wounded cheek, but Lovino flinched at his touch and Antonio pulled back quickly.
"Sorry, he muttered. Lovino looked down at his feet and pulled his knees to his chest but said nothing. They sat in silence for a while, neither of them knowing what to say.
"Sorry about what happened tonight," Antonio said quietly. Lovino didn't speak. Antonio didn't know what to do, but the silence was making him feel more and more awkward by the minute.
"You wanna see Gato?" he asked finally, getting to his feet. Lovino looked up and Antonio walked over to his pet turtle's cage on his desk and opened it, carefully reaching a hand in and picking up Gato. He placed the small turtle on the floor in front of Lovino and sat back down beside him.
"Pretty cute, huh?" he asked, trying to keep his face and conversation light and happy, although he still had an awful churning feeling left over from that night's previous incident. He was happy that he had saved Lovino, and that Lovino had retaliated, yet the thought that Lovino had almost been raped scared him so much he couldn't breathe, like there was an anvil on his chest. He had always been a 'good kid,' never staying out too late or getting in dangerous situations, and while he knew that 'that' part of town existed, he had never been there or even seen it, and so it remained to him as almost a fantasy land. He found it hard to believe that there were people in that very town who didn't know where their next meal was coming from, who didn't have anywhere to live, who had to resort to drugs and prostitution and alcohol as their only savior. And tonight, that fantasy world which had never really existed to him had now become shockingly real.
Even when Lovino had cut that boy's penis off, his hands had been shaking. He had seemed so in control, reassured of his own power at the time, but when Antonio thought back about it, it seemed Lovino must have been more scared than the boy. Antonio's own fear seemed so small and insignificant compared to Lovino's, yet even as he told himself this, trying to snap himself out of it, he couldn't stop feeling as though the walls were closing in on him.
"Hey." Lovino poked Antonio's cheek and he awoke from his thoughts. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Antonio nodded unsteadily. He tried to think of something to do to take his mind off of what had happened but it seemed he couldn't focus on anything but that. "Sorry for spacing out. I just can't… I don't know. I've never been in a situation like that before."
Lovino raised an eyebrow but remained silent, playing with Gato.
"I mean," Antonio continued, trying to explain how he felt but not knowing how, "How are you okay with it? How can you just… sit there and pretend it didn't happen?"
"Just because I act nonchalant doesn't mean I'm okay with it. But," Lovino took a deep breath and leaned back, picking up Gato and holding him in front of his face, "I figure I got him back even. You know? Sometimes you just gotta move on. Forget the last second and wait for the next one."
Antonio digested that sentence, letting it swill around in his brain. "I guess you're right," he said finally. Lovino put down Gato and leaned on Antonio, resting his head on Antonio's shoulder.
"Of course I am," he smiled lightly, and in that moment, Antonio thought he was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Antonio wrapped his arm around Lovino and pulled him closer and they sat like that for a long while- how long, neither of them could tell. Finally, Lovino whispered, "What time is it?"
Antonio looked up at the clock. "11:30," he whispered back.
"Shit." Lovino broke away and started to stand up. Antonio's arm fell limply away from Lovino's shoulders and came to rest on the ground. The space between his arm and body felt so hollow, so incomplete without Lovino there.
"What is it?"
"I should go home. I'll see you Monday." Lovino looked around, as if looking for something, then stopped. "They took my sweatshirt," he said. "Can I borrow one of yours?"
"You're going back? Alone? At this time of night?" Antonio could feel the queasy nausea that had left him as he had held Lovino build up in his stomach again.
"Yeah. There a problem?"
"It's dangerous- especially after what happened tonight- what if they come looking for you? What if they want revenge?"
Lovino rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine," he said in a slightly exasperated tone.
"At least let me walk you back," Antonio pleaded.
"No way."
"Couldn't you just wait till morning?"
"And spend the night here with you?" Lovino scoffed.
"Yeah. Or else I won't lend you a sweatshirt."
Lovino sighed in disgust. "Fine," he said. "I'll spend the night. But I'm leaving in the morning, got it?"
"Yup! It doesn't look like my roommate's coming back tonight, you can borrow it if you want." Antonio said, pointing to the bunkbed opposite his.
"Sounds good," Lovino started to say, but the door swung open and Francis stumbled drunkenly in, his shirt half unbuttoned, and collapsed on his bed, fast asleep.
"...That's my roommate," Antonio introduced him. "His name's Francis. He's a good guy." Francis rolled over onto his back and sleepily stuck his hand down his pants, scratching his crotch. "..Really," Antonio finished, a little embarrassed for his friend. "He is."
Lovino rolled his eyes. "Looks like I'm sleeping on the floor."
"No, you don't have to- we can share my bed! I don't snore, I promise!"
Lovino raised an eyebrow. "I'd rather sleep on the floor."
"I can guarantee that my bed will be comfier than the floor- I even have an extra pillow somewhere! I'll go get it." Antonio swung open his closet door and dug through the small space, looking.
"Comfiness is not the issue. I'm sleeping on the floor and that's it." Lovino crossed his arms.
"Well, it's not fair if one of us has the bed and one of us is on the floor. If you're really that set on sleeping on the floor, I'll join you!"
"That's not- ugh. Fine. I'll share your bed if you really want," Lovino grumbled. He climbed up onto the bed and lay down. "So?" he asked, looking down at Antonio. "You joining me or not?"
"Aren't you going to take off your clothes?"
"What?" Lovino screeched, color flooding into his face. "Of course not! I was under the impression that we were going to sleep next to each other on the same bed, not sleep with each other!"
"I don't mean like that," Antonio attempted to placate Lovino. "I just thought it would be uncomfortable to sleep in your clothes. You can borrow some of mine if you want."
Lovino paused, as if thinking it over. "Fine," he finally gave in. "Give me your clothes." He hopped off the bed and Antonio fumbled around in his closet, looking for a clean pair of clothes. Finally he found some and thrust them at Lovino. Lovino haughtily nodded thanks, and then briskly stepped past Antonio and into the closet, closing the door behind him. Antonio knocked on the door.
"What are you doing?" he asked, confused.
"Changing."
"In the closet?"
"What does it look like?!" he could hear Lovino's irritated shout from behind the door. Thankfully the wood muffled most of the sound and Francis did not wake.
"But.. why?" Antonio waited for an answer, but nothing came. He pressed his ear to the door, in case he just couldn't hear, but the door slammed open, whacking him in the face.
Lovino stepped out, dressed in Antonio's clothes, which were too big for him. He had to hold the pants up around his waist to prevent them from falling down.
Antonio laughed awkwardly. "Why don't you just take off your pants?" he suggested, trying to cover his mouth with his hand, in case he accidentally offended Lovino.
"Like hell!" Lovino spat, furiously waddling past Antonio, practically drowning in the fabric.
"I'm sorry," Antonio giggled, "I guess I forgot how little you are. But seriously, you should take off your pants. The shirt will probably cover everything anyway, it's big even on me."
"No way." Lovino continued waddling, looking almost like a member of some gang whose pants were so ridiculously low they could barely walk.
"Watch out for Gato," Antonio started to say, just as Lovino tripped over the small turtle that was still roaming around on the floor of the dorm. Antonio reached down and snatched him up just in time so that he wasn't crushed, but Lovino tumbled to the ground and fell face down, his butt perched comically in the air. Antonio carefully put Gato back in his cage and then hurried over to help Lovino up, but he had already gotten to his feet and stepped out of the jeans. Antonio bit back a laugh and started to take his shirt off, but was interrupted by Lovino shrieking,
"W-W-What the fuck are you doing?!"
Antonio looked up. "I'm changing," he said.
Lovino turned his face away, but Antonio saw that his ears were red. "Go change in the closet," he commanded, facing the wall.
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
"Fine, fine, whatever," Antonio waved Lovino's words away and walked into the closet, coming back out a minute later.
"Hey Lovino?" he called, closing the closet door behind him, "Is it okay if I sleep with my shirt off? I have this stupid fear of getting strangled in my sleep and whenever I feel something around my neck I freak out."
"Well, you'll just have to-" Lovino turned around and then stopped, the color in his face rising. "..Not wear a shirt then. That's fine. That's- totally fine. Yes. Very. Excellent," he stuttered, until finally he managed to tear his eyes away. "Get into bed," he mumbled.
"Okay." A bit confused, Antonio climbed onto the bed and lay down next to Lovino, pulling the blankets up. He reached up and turned off the light switch, then settled down. He felt somehow at peace, lying on his back with Lovino, who was on his side, facing away from Antonio.
Antonio glanced sideways at Lovino. He could tell Lovino wasn't asleep, but he was too tired to respond to his sluggish thoughts, and he fell asleep quickly.
Antonio woke in the middle of the night from a dream. He felt something stir beside him and started, until he saw that it was just Lovino. He must have rolled over in the night, for he was now facing Antonio, so close Antonio could feel Lovino's breath on his skin. He could feel Lovino's hand pressed to his chest, and Antonio, not really knowing why, put his arm around Lovino. He felt Lovino sort of nuzzle up against him, and all that registered in Antonio's mind was how cute Lovino was when he was sleeping, before he, too, fell asleep.