Cleaning the shop was boring. But it had to be done, so Lovino would do it.

He grumbled as he grabbed the broom from it's corner behind the front counter, going to sweep by the plants. Owning a flower shop meant leaves. Lots of them, all over the floor.

Lovino had learned to really hate sweeping.

He glared at one of the plants as he worked, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. "This is your fault." He announced to the empty shop. Of course there was no response, and he huffed. "You could at least talk back, if you're going to keep me here for an extra half hour every day." More silence, just as usual. Lovino was sick of the quiet. The sound of the broom swishing over the floor only irritated him more, and talking to the plants only made him feel silly, as often as he did it.

Wasn't singing supposed to be good for plants? He'd heard that somewhere, and right now he just wanted to get rid of this oppressive silence. It took him a few moments to recall a tune he liked, to remember the words. He started humming, but after a verse or two he had progressed to singing softly, his voice floating around the empty shop.

The swish of the broom began to match the tempo of the song as he fell into rhythm, working his way across the floor. Soon the rhythm had changed into a small dance, and soon after that he was using the broom as a stand-in dance partner every once in a while. After all, it wasn't like he could dance with the plants, and there was no one else there. As if he would be doing this if there were.

There wasn't anyone in the shop of course. Lovino would have noticed if someone walked in. What he hadn't noticed was that he had left the window open, and there was now someone watching and listening as he danced and sang, oblivious to the new presence. The song continued for several minutes like this, until with an exaggerated swing of his broom, Lovino finished the song. He stood in the now silent room, admiring his handiwork.

Until the bell above the door chimed. Lovino whirled, startled. "Hello! Can I help you-" His greeting dropped off when he saw who it was. "Oh. What do you want, Antonio?"

Antonio owned the shop next door. He was always coming in with no intention of doing any business at all. The most Lovino was willing to admit was that it was kind of nice, to have Antonio popping in to offer to share lunch, or to say hi when the shop was quiet. Then again, the only time Antonio had ever bought anything he had had the audacity to hand the flowers back to Lovino with some cheesy pick up line that Lovino refused to admit he'd found rather endearing.

Antonio was rather good-looking, too. Lovino had convinced himself that this was a fact, that simply had to be acknowledged. That didn't stop his face from heating up when Antonio returned his halfhearted greeting with a wide, crooked smile.

"That was beautiful, Lovi!" He exclaimed, looking at him with- was that admiration?

"What?" Lovino stared at him, not bothering to complain about the nickname. "What are you talking about?"

"The singing! And dancing, too. You're excellent at both."

Lovino felt a surge of horror when he realized what Antonio was referencing. "W-what? How the hell do you know anything about that? The shop was empty!"

Antonio nodded towards the window, which Lovino hadn't realized was wide opened. "I watched from outside. I thought I shouldn't come in and disturb you."

Lovino was lost for words, completely mortified. His mouth opened but no sound came out. Finally, after far too many tries for his liking, he managed to speak. "The store's closing. You'll have to leave, now." His voice was stiff.

"But it's only noon?" God, this guy really couldn't take a hint.

"Well it's closed for you. The door's over there."

Antonio's face set in a determined way that Lovino did not like at all. "I'll leave after you dance with me."

Lovino's eyes widened, and he glared at him. "Why the hell would I dance with you?" He protested.

"Because that's the only way you're getting rid of me right now, or I can just hang out until the end of your shift. Your pick." His voice was matter-a-fact, and Lovino felt a surge of irritation.

"This is blackmail!" He argued. "Why the fuck would I want to dance with you, when you're probably just going to step all over my feet anyways? There isn't even any music!"

"I'm sure I'm a better partner than the broom, at least." Antonio retorted coolly, smirking. "And you can sing something, I'm sure. I just heard you."

Lovino started at him. How dare he? Who the hell did he think he was? That handsome son of a bitch-

He crossed his arms, scowling at Antonio. "That's really the only way to get you to shut up?" Antonio nodded, and Lovino sighed. "One song. You aren't going to breathe a word of this to anyone, or else." Antonio's expression lit up, and he stepped up to Lovino. One of his arms went to Lovino's waist and his other hand found Lovino's, and Lovino had a sudden, intense wave of regret. Too close, much, much too close.

"I'll lead." Antonio said, and Lovino's protest came immediately.

"Why the hell are you leading? I don't even know if you can dance!"

"You'll be too busy singing, anyways. Just trust me!" Lovino was about to argue, but then Antonio smiled at him again and he lost his will to fight.

"Fine. It's only one dance, anyways."

Antonio stood still and silent, and Lovino was about to ask him, 'why the hell are you just standing there?' Then he remembered that he was supposed to be singing, and he felt his face heat up again. It took him a few moments of stumbling thought before his mind could catch on a tune, and he hesitantly began humming. Antonio seemed to gauge the sound for a moment, before moving accordingly. It was embarrassingly slow at first, but to Lovino's pleasant surprise, Antonio could dance. They stepped smoothly together, to the tune of Lovino's humming.

Antonio suddenly leaned in- even closer, oh god, too close- and spoke quietly in Lovino's ear. "You're supposed to be singing, not humming, cariño."

Lovino leaned away again, face going hot. That was not at all something appropriate for Antonio to call him, holding him like this, but his mouth did not work and he found himself unable to retort. He tried, though, before giving up and searching for the words to the song. He took a small breath, before beginning to sing quietly.

"E lei
lei mi guardava con sospetto
poi mi sorrideva e mi teneva stretto stretto...
ed io
io non ho mai capito niente
visto che oramai non me lo levo dalla mente
che lei..."

He couldn't remember if that was the right verse. He couldn't remember much of anything right now, really, but the words came easily. His eyes had glued themselves to their feet, which kept pace with the song. And damn, Antonio was a really good lead, even if Lovino refused to say anything about it.

"Mi manca da morire
quel suo piccolo grande amore
adesso che saprei cosa dire
adesso che saprei cosa fare
adesso che...
voglio un piccolo grande amore..."

He was absolutely certain now that he had gotten the verses wrong, but couldn't bring himself to care much. It wasn't like Antonio would know the song anyways, and they were moving so well together that Lovino couldn't really focus. He was losing the words again, and grasped for any of them in his mind, not caring any longer if it was wrong.

"E chiare sere d'estate
il mare i giochi le fate
e la paura e la voglia di essere nudi
un bacio a labbra salate
un fuoco quattro risate
e fa l'amore giù al faro...
ti amo davvero... ti amo lo giuro...
ti amo ti amo davvero..."

It wasn't until after he was singing the words that he realized that, no, these were not the words he wanted to sing right now, not with Antonio this close. It felt too intimate to be dancing like this, to a song like this. Antonio couldn't possibly know what he was singing, but Lovino was a good singer, and his voice was suddenly giving too much context to what he was saying. He stumbled a bit over the next line, his voice faltering, and he nearly stepped on Antonio. He glanced up, and hell, he was about to apologize, but he couldn't speak. Antonio was looking at him in a way he wasn't used too. It was sincere and open and too intimate- again, with the intimacy- and Lovino was looking right back at him. Suddenly the closeness was bothering him much less, and he was noticing things about Antonio that he had not wanted to notice. How nice his eyes were, the smile lines that were so self explanatory that it was almost funny, his stupid hair and his stupid nose and his stupid mouth and-

Lovino realized with a jolt that he was still looking at Antonio's mouth and he pulled away abruptly, adamantly refusing to acknowledge that the very thought of kissing Antonio had entered his mind, suddenly very interested in his hands.

Antonio seemed unfazed by Lovino's sudden retreat, still giving him that look that made Lovino wonder what the hell had just happened?Then he was smiling again, and Lovino fervently wished that he would just leave because there was no way he was willing to deal with this right now. Because something had just happened, something had clicked, and the thought of confronting that right now was making him slighty sick. And then Antonio was stepping towards him again and shit, he couldn't move. Lovino stood stock still and red-faced as Antonio spoke again.

"That's our song now, alright? Don't forget." And it should have been a joke, maybe it was was one, but it sounded so... sincere.

Lovino went to tell him off. He wanted to say, 'you have no fucking right to claim any such thing', but he took too long in getting his voice working again. Antonio just lifted Lovino's hand to his lips, kissing his knuckles like Lovino was some sort of lady, only making Lovino flounder more for something to say. Because now he had no idea what to say first. There was asking what Antonio was thinking, coming in here and pulling this shit, and there was telling him not to treat Lovino like some sort of fucking damsel, and then... what else? In the back of his mind he wanted to know if Antonio knew what had just happened to Lovino, but he had the terrible feeling that Antonio did know, because that stupid fucking look was telling him everything.

Antonio stepped away, giving a mock bow. "I promised I would leave now, right?" He said honestly. "Thank you for the dance, Lovino." And then he just... left.

Lovino stood there for several minutes, trying to process what had happened. Because... nothing really had happened. He'd danced with Antonio, and then Antonio had left. Just as planned. It was what had almost happened, however, that was now bouncing around Lovino's head. He had wanted to kiss Antonio. He almost had. And Antonio probably knew, because he always knew everything if it was inconvenient to Lovino for him to know.

And there was the tiny, nagging problem that now he still wanted to kiss Antonio.

What an asshole. Coming in and making Lovino think things like this. And try as he might, Lovino could not stop thinking about it, even as customers came through the rest of his shift, especially in the quiet when no one else was there.

Lovino didn't sing anymore for the rest of the day.

A few people noticed Lovino's sudden preoccupation. The first person to bring it up, however, was his own brother. Feliciano had stopped by to see how the shop was going, since he had started working across town. Lovino responded to his usual energy and cheerfulness with unusual apathy.

"Is there something wrong, Lovi?" Feliciano asked after a while, giving Lovino a concerned look.

Of course something was wrong. Lovino couldn't get his mind off that stupid fucking Spaniard next door, and he was completely put out by his inability to snap out of it. But he just glared at Feliciano. "No. Why would anything be wrong?" He snapped.

Feliciano regarded him for a moment. "You seem distracted is all. Did something happen?"

Feliciano was usually so dense that Lovino hadn't even considered that he'd notice anything. God, he must be really bad if his brother was noticing. "Yes. I mean, no! And even if something had happened, it would be none of your business." He finally said, voice hard. Feliciano seemed unconvinced.

"It's just, if something is bothering you then surely someone could help-"

Lovino had had enough of interacting with nosy people today. He stepped away from the counter, going for his broom again. "I'm closing the shop. It's time for you to go."

"It's only five, fratello. Don't you think it's a little early?"

That sounded too much like what Antonio had said right before they danced, and Feliciano had managed to simultaneously remind Lovino of everything he didn't want to think about and convince him that it was most definitely time to close.

"My shop, my rules. Out." He said, his voice just sharp enough for him to regret speaking to his brother like that. Feliciano just looked at him knowingly. Why was it that every dense asshole on this planet suddenly seemed to know what was on his mind?

"Hope whatever it is clears up!" Feliciano said, before practically bouncing out of the store.

And now Lovino had to sweep, again. The world must have hated him at this moment, if everything had to remind him. And now just the thought of singing made him want to crack the broom in half, and he had no way to get rid of that horrible silence.

Until that is, he noticed that Feliciano had forgotten his phone on the counter. He would probably remember to come get it later but maybe it had some sort of music on it. Even if Feliciano listened to some stupid happy-go-lucky music, anything would be better than this.

Lovino picked up the phone and turned it on. It was unlocked. Feliciano never had been a very careful person. He began looking through the apps, until he found one that looked like it was for music. Opening it, he fumbled through the unfamiliar app until he found what appeared to be a playlist of some kind. As soon as the music began playing he immediately relaxed, the music surprisingly not half bad. He returned to sweeping, focused on his task and finally able to forget about what had been worrying him all afternoon. He even allowed himself a few small dance-like flourishes of the broom as he cleaned.

Everything was going well, until a few songs into the playlist. When the next song started, Lovino was absolutely sure that the universe had some sort of vendetta against him.

"Lei era
un piccolo grande amore
solo un piccolo grande amore
niente più di questo... niente più...
Mi manca da morire
quel suo piccolo grande amore
adesso che saprei cosa dire
adesso che saprei cosa fare
adesso che...
voglio un piccolo grande amore..."

Lovino had no idea how that song had gotten onto this playlist, but it completely destroyed what relaxation he had managed to find before it came on. He started towards the phone to turn it off, but something stopped him.

It was a nice song, and Lovino refused to let Antonio ruin it. So he set his jaw before turning away again, wanting to finish cleaning as quickly as possible.

The song made his mind wander in directions he did not necessarily want it to go. It was barely a fifth of the way through the song when Lovino realized he was dancing again. His eyes closed, and his steps became more sure, and without realizing it he had begun to retrace the steps he had taken with Antonio. But it was easier to forget exactly what he was doing, if he just concentrated on what was here and not what had happened-

A startled shriek escaped him when he suddenly felt hands on his sides, his eyes shooting open as his entire body flooded with panic. The hands spun him around before he could do it himself, and when he finally got a look at the owner he felt a completely new emotion flood through him.

"Antonio! What the fuck do you think you're doing here, you asshole? You- You-" He stared at him, searching for words. "You fucking pulled whatever that was earlier, and then you come here and scare the shit out of me!"

Antonio laughed, as if Lovino had greeted him with a joke, and not a rushed wall of angry words. "I promised you I'd leave after that, remember?" Yes, Lovino most certainly did remember every single goddamned second of that entire exchange, but Antonio didn't give him a chance to reply. "That's why I'm here now."

Lovino was so tempted to let him stay. To get an explanation and be able to move on with his life and be able to sing while he cleaned without feeling like the world was imploding around him. But he just stared blankly at him, before steeling his voice. "The store is closed. You need to leave."

"Come on Lovino, that didn't work the first time and it won't work now."

"But now the shop is actually closed. Leave."

Antonio's expression tightened for a moment, and Lovino wondered if he had been as distracted all afternoon as Lovino had been. The thought hadn't even occurred to him. But Antonio just nodded, before stepping closer and nodding at the phone.

"I'll leave. But you have to dance with me first." Lovino's jaw dropped. He was asking that again, after what had happened the first time. Lovino wanted to yell at him, but he couldn't find the heart to argue with Antonio anymore. Antonio continued anyways. "This is our song, remember? You're not supposed to be dancing by yourself."

Lovino was momentarily lost for words again. He should have pushed Antonio away like he was used to, and surely everything would be back to normal in the morning. But the look on Antonio's face was halfway between the open, almost loving expression that had closed up Lovino's throat earlier and a tighter, less sure expression.

"Fine." His voice was small, and that was not what he wanted to say. He wanted to say no, but his mouth was no longer obeying him. "You get the rest of the song."

Antonio was moving practically before Lovino finished speaking, stepping close to him, his arm going back to his waist, his hand going to Lovino's again.

Without the singing to distract him suddenly all his focus was on the dancing, and that was a bad and a good thing. He was no longer in the slightest danger of stepping on Antonio, no longer having to think about the words of the song and what they meant. However, he was also doubly aware of Antonio moving with him, holding onto him, and even though he refused to look he was sure that Antonio was looking at him as well. And now there were no words to distract him from the terrifyingly stupid thoughts running through his head, and god damn it, he still really wanted to kiss the idiot.

They were taking the same steps they had earlier, and Lovino was forgetting to be angry. He was also forgetting to be irritated, or confused, or scared. When the music finally stopped, his mind was strangely clear.

This time Lovino didn't yank away. When he looked back up and saw Antonio giving him that same look, if a bit pained, he didn't feel sick anymore.

He stared at Antonio for a moment. This time he broke the silence.

"Fuck it." He said, his voice slightly hoarse. Antonio's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Wha-"

He was interrupted when Lovino leaned up and pressed his lips firmly against Antonio's, effectively silencing him. Antonio seemed to tense for a moment, before leaning down slightly, sighing against Lovino's mouth. And then Lovino's hands had found their way into Antonio's hair, Antonio's hands going up to frame Lovino's face. If they had been close when they were dancing then what they were doing now was practically blasphemous, their bodies practically pressed together. Before anything could go any further, however, Lovino had pulled away again, accompanied by a small noise of protest from Antonio.

They just looked at each other for a moment, neither of them quite sure what to say.

Antonio spoke first. "Do... do you still want me to go, then?"

Lovino resisted the urge to hit him. The urge to kiss him again was a little harder to resist, but he still only frowned. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

For once it was Antonio who couldn't find the words he wanted. "I...?" He shook his head. "I can still go..."

Lovino punched him in arm, but decided that the best way to make up for that was to quickly pull him down into another kiss. Antonio looked rather dazed when he let go of him. "Okay... so I don't have to leave?"

Lovino stared at him in disbelief for a moment. Another moment passed, and suddenly Lovino burst out laughing. Snorting, messy, hiccuping laughter that shook his whole body, which was somehow still pressed against Antonio's. "You're hopeless, aren't you?"

Antonio was surprised by the sudden outburst, but then that dumb grin split his face again, and he was laughing too. "I guess that depends."

Lovino shook his head. "What were you even coming over to do?" Obviously whatever it was hadn't exactly happened.

"Well, I was going to ask you to dinner, but I think I like this much better anyways."

Lovino snorted. "You would. Don't be getting any funny ideas. You're taking me to dinner before anything exciting happens."

Antonio raised an eyebrow, the stupid smile shifting to become slightly more sneaky. "Are you sure?"

Lovino glared at him. "Yes, I'm su-" But he was cut off when Antonio leaned down and kissed him again, much harder. When he pulled away he still had that sly smirk on, and Lovino's eyes narrowed. His eyes flickered to the door momentarily, which had been flipped to 'closed'. He pulled away, before taking Antonio's hand and tugging him towards the back. "You're taking me to dinner. Tonight."

Antonio just laughed again, and Lovino hid a crooked grin of his own.