AN: Ciao, everyone.
Alright, I'm back now that I've had a bit of rest after my early-morning church escapade. I hated it, for the most part. The music and sunday school were okay. Came home with a headache from listening to preaching because the damned pastor (temporary/guest, that is) decided he was going to spend the hour and a half fucking yelling instead of talking like a normal human being. ...just go to hell, man.
To those who reviewed:
Guest: (Hi). Lucky! Why can't church not be bad for me...god.. I'm glad you liked the chapter. I do update fast, I suppose. I have nothing else to do, really. Nothing to study as of now.
Spamano4ever: ..yeah..you're going to hate this chapter, mi amiga. But I promise, after this chapter, things will get better.
Enjoy.
Antonio was surprised when Lovino didn't wake him up early. He blinked against the brightness to see that Lovino had already left. There was a note laying beside him. He grumbled, picking it up and unfolding it.
'Antonio. I couldn't bring myself to wake you this morning. You were much too peaceful. Besides, I didn't want you to see how big of a mess I was this morning. I'll see you this evening after work unless you want to stop by during my break again. Don't worry too much about me today, Vash sent a gun with me, so I should be fine as long as I can use it if I have to. Just remember, I love you. No matter what. Lovino.'
Antonio gave a faint smile and got up. He would definitely go see Lovino during his break.
When Antonio walked in, it was to see Lovino standing with a fist clenched against the table as one of the guests (definitely couldn't call them a customer) bugged him.
Antonio knew the stance. Lovino was trying to hold himself back from turning around and taking a punch or two. He was normally very keen on not fighting. But if he passed his limit, he would.
He watched in horror as the male tried to make Lovino turn to face him only to have a couple of plates broke over his head. "Leave me the fuck alone, you bastard."Lovino snapped, spitting at his feet before he huffed.
The other customers had fallen silent, watching this. It had never happened before, apparently.
Lovino's boss came out then and escorted the other man from the restruant. Lovino shook his head, cleaning up the broken glass of the plates in silence.
Antonio let Lovino finish before he came up and wrapped his arms around Lovino from behind. "Hey, baby."he said quietly.
Lovino smiled faintly, turning in Antonio's arms to smile up at him. "You came."
"'Course I did."Antonio said. "I missed you this morning. I couldn't go all day without seeing you.."
Lovino rolled his eyes. "Sap."he accused softly. "You..didn't see that, right..?"
Antonio sighed. "I did."he replied, tucking a lock of the Italian's hair behind his ear. "Do I want to know what that was about...?"
Lovino hesitated before he sighed. "That was one of the inductees from the same week I was pulled into the mafia. He's been looking for me for some time. He wants out, too, but I can't help him. I have to keep Feli safe before. He's not too happy about it, but.."
"Well..hopefully he won't bother you again."Antonio said. "Now..how about you tell me what song you were thinking of performing Friday."
Lovino laughed. "Oh..god..I don't know."he said softly. "I'll have to figure that out soon, huh?"
Antonio nodded, releasing the Italian.
A few of the customers in the restruants were smiling at the scene. One of the families signalled Lovino over.
Lovino brushed past Antonio to go over, curious as to what it was about.
Antonio could hear the father of the small family speak softly to Lovino. "You two are very sweet together. But..I do want to know one thing. I saw his expression when he came in. Much more concern than one could find normal. Is there someone you're trying to stay safe from?"
Lovino panicked slightly. He couldn't say anything about his situation with kids around! He couldn't say anything period. "Just a group that's not too happy about me backing out."
A nod. "Alright. Well..stay safe, then."
"Grazie, sir."Lovino said before giving the others a soft smile and returning to Antonio's side.
He looked a bit bewildered and Antonio laughed lightly. "Surprised that not everyone are douchebags?"
Lovino rolled his eyes, shoving his shoulder lightly before he spoke. "Yeah. The people here are amazing. I just didn't expect that."
"Lovi!"
The Italian turned at the child's voice, eyes wide.
He was greeted with a small six year old holding her arms up. "'Marie. Why aren't you with your daddy? He said he was watching you today."he said, picking the small child up.
Antonio hid his smile as Lovino took the girl back to her dad.
When Lovino returned, it was to Antonio's soft cooing. "Oh, that was so cute."he commented.
"Bastard."Lovino replied, kissing his cheek. "If you're staying a while, find you something to do without causing injury. Cause..my break's about over."
Antonio shook his head. "I'll be here to pick you up this evening, okay?"he said.
Lovino nodded. When one of the other workers called his name through a door, signalling the end of his break, he gave Antonio a chaste kiss and disappeared.
"Te amo, Lovi!"Antonio called after him before he left.
Lovino's laughter followed him as he left.
That evening, Antonio was there to pick him up.
The rest of the day passed pretty quietly. The others had been informed of the mishap at the restruant, and Lovino spent most of his time trying to find the song he was going to perform on Friday.
_S&S_-
By the time Friday came around, Lovino was dreading his performance. It would take place during his break. While the others would be there, he worried about someone from the mafia coming in while he was performing. It was founded, of course, because it wouldn't be the first time someone from the mafia had come in while he was working.
Going into work, Lovino looked a bit worried. Not for the performance. For what could happen during it. He had the gun that Vash had given him with him, tucked out of sight from everyone else. His boss knew he had it, of course, and why. That was it. Everyone else would have to deal with it.
The morning rush was larger than normal and Lovino tried to be kind and happy with all of them. Only..he couldn't help but let some worry show. His nerves were getting the better of him.
Some of the customers who knew he would be performing wished him luck, the others gave him faint smiles of encouragement and let it go.
Either way, nothing bad happened.
The others came in right before Lovino's break officially began. But he wasn't working. His boss had called him off the job so he could get ready. They had a makeshift stage set up, and Lovino was seated on the floor in front of it, getting a guitar tuned in silence. Feliciano nearly plowed him over in a hug.
"Fratello, I can't breathe."Lovino gasped out.
Feliciano let him go and Vash laughed lightly.
When it was time for him to perform, he broke away from the chatter to get onstage.
The group had found seats in silence by that point. Lovino's boss leaned against a doorway, and the workers who were able to were standing nearby to watch Lovino play. They'd never really seen him play before.
Lovino looked over at Antonio and his meaning became clear to the Spaniard before he started playing.
It took Lovino a minute before he actually looked up again. Only when he began singing did he look up and meet anyone's eyes. Dead silence filled the rest of the restruant.
"Sometimes it feels like I'm gonna break. Sometimes this world gives more than I can take. Sometimes, sunshine gets lost in the rain and it keeps pouring down It just keeps coming down."
Feliciano tilted his head. He wasn't sure he'd heard Lovino play something like this before.
Lovino met Antonio's eyes again and smiled faintly.
"This life would kill me if I didn't have you. I couldn't live without you, baby, I wouldn't want to. If you didn't love me so much, I'd never make it through 'cause this life would kill me..this life would kill me if I didn't have you."
Lovino didn't continue. Mostly because the door opened again and he glanced over to see who it was. He froze up then, barely biting back a curse.
Vash went to get up, but Lovino shook his head and the Swiss nodded, letting Lovino stop and set the guitar aside. He crossed his arms and glared at the male who was standing in the doorway.
His glare was returned with a colder one.
"Romano."
Lovino swallowed before he spoke. "It's Lovino."he snapped. He knew he'd pay for it in the long run, but he hated playing by their rules. He still was, even after he'd said he was done and had walked out.
Lovino's boss seemed like he wanted to intervene, but he didn't when he saw Lovino shake his head.
The Italian climbed offstage, pausing by the table and looking to Vash. "Wenn die Dinge schlecht erhalten, erhalten alle anderen aus."he murmured.
Vash gave him an understanding nod, as did Ludwig and Gilbert when he looked to them.
Lovino moved away and moved to stand in front of the male defiantly. "Why are you here?"
"I see someone's forgotten their manners."
Lovino took a step back to avoid a backhand. He was too used to that. "No. I just know to only use them with humane people. You are not one."he spat.
Vash looked at Lovino like he was crazy. Why the hell was he provoking the man?
The distinct accent in the other man's voice made him stop. Where had he heard the accent before?
"I'm here because you left. Unfinished business needs to be finished."
Lovino knew exactly what he meant by that. He folded his hands behind his back carefully. "Alright, let's try this again, sir."
Patronizing. Antonio seemed to be picking up on what was going on. He looked at Vash. "He's not going to shoot him, is he?"he murmured.
Vash tilted his head. He studied his 'brother's stance. Then he noticed how Lovino had his hands. One was folded around the other, but there was a clear sign. "He is."he responded. "So help me. We gotta get the rest of these guys outta here before things go to hell."
Vash, Ludwig and Gilbert got up and started telling people that they needed to leave. Nobody objected. They seemed to realize that something was about to happen.
Ludwig stopped short when he found a gun pointing at him.
Lovino's attitude stopped. "Don't shoot him."he said. "Don't."
The man looked back at him. "You going to cooperate?"
Ludwig looked at Lovino, shaking his head slightly.
Lovino let his hands fall to his sides again. "Yes, sir."he responded. No patronizing tone.
Feliciano watched his brother.
The man lowered the gun and Ludwig met Lovino's eyes. "Go. Take Feli and leave. Please. Keep him safe."
Ludwig nodded and did as he was asked. The tone of Lovino's voice nearly broke even him.
As soon as Feliciano and Ludwig had disappeared from the building, Lovino met Vash's eyes.
The look there nearly made Vash laugh. But his heart was breaking from watching Lovino's resolve crumble like that. He understood. Lovino would do anything for his friends. And Ludwig was his friend, in an odd way.
But the look hiding in Lovino's eyes let Vash know it was an act. He was still going.
Lovino refolded his arms behind his back, this time making it seem like he had gone back to being submissive.
Antonio was watching in concern. He wasn't used to seeing his boyfriend like this.
He winced when Lovino got hit. He wanted to step in, but he knew Lovino would be pissed at him for it.
When the room was a bit louder due to Lovino's coworkers talking, trying to figure out what they were supposed to do, Lovino got the gun he had hidden out and cocked it behind his back without letting the man in front of him know what he was doing.
He froze when he found a blade placed against his throat. He knew the feeling of those blades well enough. They were sharp. Even now, he could feel a trickle of blood run down his neck. It was just a small prick right now.
It was at that point that Lovino met the man's gaze and knew he wouldn't get a good shot in. Not like this. As such, he uncocked the gun and put it back away. What else could he do?
He followed what instructions were given to him for a bare moment. As soon as he was a bit further back, he repeated his earlier actions. This time, he waited for the man to be distracted before he brought the gun around and fired off two shots. One injure, second kill. Lovino knew that by heart. He'd learned it from the same man he'd just shot at.
Hit both times. Lovino bit back a faint smile as he put the gun away again.
Dead silence fell as the man hit the ground. Someone from his home country. Someone who was now dead.
The sound of sirens sounded then. Not even two minutes later, an ambulence crew was there, as were a couple cops.
Vash spoke with the cops while Lovino let Antonio take care of the slight cut on his neck.
Nobody said a word to Lovino. Antonio pulled him to him, laying his head against Lovino's shoulder. "Don't do that..I thought you'd given up.."he whispered.
Lovino chuckled. "I still have some dignity, Toni. I would never give up, because..well..I don't like being treated like trash or some toy that people can throw aside."he said softly. "I just know how to act. Bide time."
Antonio nodded, pulling back and meeting Lovino's eyes. He shook his head. "I love you."he said.
Lovino smiled at him lightly. He still had blood staining his lips from the harsh hit he'd taken. He was used to it, but it didn't mean Antonio didn't hate it.
Antonio examined the red mark where Lovino had gotten hit. He sighed. "That's going to bruise."he pointed out.
"I have salve and concealer. I'm used to this."Lovino commented.
Antonio sighed, pressing a kiss to Lovino's lips. He pulled back and frowned. The taste of blood really bothered him, since he knew that Lovino was hurt by it. "Te amo."
Lovino smiled. "Ti amo."he said in return.
Vash spoke. "Lovino, c'mere, Bruder."
Lovino pulled away from Antonio to walk over to Vash, who was standing alone now.
The Swiss gave him a tight hug. "Never scare me like that again."
"He was going to shoot Ludwig. I might not like him too much, but he's done nothing to deserve that. If it meant I had to go back to how I was before, I would've done it. For any of you."
Vash let Lovino go. He looked at Lovino. "You realize how close you came to having what dignity you still have stolen from you, as well as what little innocence you still possess, right?"he asked.
Lovino sighed. "I'm well aware. I would lay that on the line if it meant protecting you guys, though. You all matter to me much more than myself."
Vash shook his head. "You're too noble, Lovino."he said. "But I'm very proud of you for how you handled the situation today."
Lovino nodded. "I'll just be glad when I can curl up and let myself break today."he grumbled. "It's been too much to handle."
Vash looked over that Lovino's boss, who nodded and motioned for them to go.
Vash led Lovino out, the others following.
As soon as they were at Antonio's Lovino collapsed, shaking.
"I was wondering if the fear would set in."
Lovino glowered at Gilbert. "It set in when that sorry bastard brought a gun out."he snapped.
Feliciano saw his brother and gave him a tight hug. "Lovi."he cried. "Are you okay?"
Lovino pushed Feliciano back and gave him a smile. "Yeah. I'm just fine."he said softly.
Man, it had turned out to be one hell of a day, Lovino thought silently.
This is the last mafia involvement outside of the past memories brought out by Lovino through the story. Damn, I hated writing this. I wanted to just erase all of it and not do it. But I had to do this.
Bye.