A/N- Part of my Christmas Countdown 2015, a series of fics from different fandoms centering around different pairings. Prompt: Presents. The design of Antonio's gift to Lovino is based off of an actual one I saw online. Fic was partially inspired by that one piece of fanart I drew that one time. Human AU.

The Art of Giving (Presents)

It was almost Christmas and Antonio was stumped. When one finally had a Boyfriend (And the capitalization was one hundred percent necessary), one really had to think about the appropriate gift, especially when said Boyfriend was the guy he'd been pathetically crushing on for the past year and a half. Money wasn't the issue, well actually, in a way, it was. He could (and would) have bought Lovino a country if he thought it would make him happy, but six months into their relationship and the other man still got flustered when Antonio "threw his money at him". So expensive gifts were out.

His friends, as usual, were absolutely no help. Gilbert had suggested alcohol, but that had seemed like a cop-out. Francis on the other hand said that he needed to spread some holiday cheer, but accompanied the statement with a lewd wink which made Antonio want roll his eyes and wash them with holy water simultaneously. The only useful advice came from Feliciano, Lovino's younger brother.

"Fratello likes clothes," he said with a grin "maybe you can get him a nice shirt or something."

Which is how Antonio found himself frantically searching the depths of several online stores in the middle of the night, because apparently the closer it got to Christmas, the less stock the stores had, who would have known? Antonio was just about to give up and go with Gil's suggestion of nice booze when he found it. It was of excellent quality but not to expensive. Gilbert would approve of the message and Francis of the design, and Lovino would (hopefully) approve of the overall product. The only piece remaining was exactly in Lovino's size. In other words, it was perfect. Antonio added it quickly to his cart, paying extra for 1 day delivery, and soon a carefully wrapped blue box was housed at the bottom of his closet.

When Antonio met Lovino in his apartment on Christmas day butterflies did acrobatics in his stomach. Even after six months of hand holding and stolen kisses and shy smiles that only the chosen few got to see, Antonio still wasn't used to that feeling. He smiled at his Boyfriend (and the capitalization was still one hundred percent necessary), sliding the present towards him. Lovino handed him a small parcel wrapped in brown paper, before carefully unwrapping the box in front of him. Suddenly nervous, Antonio picked at the wrappings of his own present, stifling the temptation to stare as Lovino methodically removed the brown paper. He hadn't realized that he'd completely unwrapped his gift until smooth paper gave way to hard plastic. Looking down, he saw a small bronze telescope, about the size of a monopoly piece, hanging from a leather chord and grinned. Trust Lovino to remember his fascination with the sea. He nearly forgot his anxiousness in his delight, but was quickly reminded when Lovino let out a quiet snort.

"Do you like it Lovi?"

"Tonio this is brilliant!" he said with chuckle.

Spread out before him was a soft, red and white sweater with "Merry F***ing Christmas" emblazoned on the front. The second, third, and fourth letters of the expletive were censored by three white snowflakes. Lovino gave a shark like grin as he pulled it on. It fit him perfectly, emphasizing his lean physique rather than drowning it.

"I'm going wear it to dinner, Grandpa'll have a fit!"

Antonio joined in his laughter, feeling a weight lift from his chest. He moved to tie his new necklace around his neck. The movement caught Lovino's eye, and he said

"So, you liked your gift?"

"It's perfect, mi amor."

Antonio knew he didn't imagine his relieved sigh or the flash of gratitude in his eyes. He reached out to the man in front of him, his Boyfriend (and he was never going to tire of saying that), and grabbed his hands. Smiling softly as Lovino's complexion took on the hue of his new sweater, he pulled the other man close to his chest and dropped a kiss on the top of his head.

"The best present I got this year was you, you know."

Lovino mumbled something into his chest that was probably a comment on the corniness of that sentiment, but Antonio didn't mind. He didn't think he could possibly be happier than he was in that moment.