A/N This one-shot is a part of my AU I created for another multi-chaptered story, That Song Called Love. It isn't necessary to read that one first or at all to understand this fic. For those of you who have read That Song Called Love, this one-shot takes place several years before the main story line. I hope you enjoy. :)

I used some religious and Biblical allusions in this chapter but what I've written here is neither a formal argument nor a judgment of any religion. Please do not take it seriously, and please do not judge others or any religion based on what I have written here.

EDIT: This is a one-shot. It will not be continued.

Antonio winced and gasped sharply as, for the umpteenth time that day, he accidentally leaned back against his chair and the hard plastic of the desk pressed directly against his sore back. Tears sprung to his eyes and he wondered again how Gilbert had managed to convince him to get a tattoo the night before along with himself and Francis. He liked the design he'd gotten, a simple cross spread out against his back; he just wasn't a big fan of the soreness and dryness that accompanied it. He'd had to apply lotion generously to his back several times throughout the day, a task that Francis seemed unusually interested in; he'd even offered to do it for him.

This was all done in secret, of course. His parents would most likely crucify him (upside down) if they ever found out; that was why he'd chosen the cross as his design, in hopes that if they did find out about his tattoo the fact that it was religious might take an edge off of their Catholic wrath. Of course, he wasn't planning on ever letting them see it. He scooted forward in the desk in an attempt to keep the chair from touching his back. There was just one hour of Confirmation class he had to put up with before he could go home and lie on his stomach for the rest of the day. The voice of Father Sanchez drew him back to the front of the church's classroom.

"Children," he announced, "Today we are blessed with the arrival of two new students who are also on the journey to Confirmation." He gestured at two boys who had entered the room with him. They were the same height and looked similar; Antonio assumed they were twins. Curiously enough, each one had a curl sticking out of his head, defying the laws of physics to stick up into the air. One twin was grinning broadly, particularly at the girls. The other scowled. Antonio felt his heart skip a beat as the boy's angry glare rested on him for a second.

"This is Feliciano and Lovino Vargas," Father Sanchez introduced, gesturing towards each as he said their name. "They just moved here from Italy. Would you like to introduce yourselves?"

"Sì!" called out the smiling one cheerfully, his words coming out with a thick Italian accent. "I'm Feliciano! I love pasta and pizza! Ve~"

Ve? Antonio felt a grin cross his face. That was so cute! It made him want to hug the boy.

"And what about you, Lovino?" prompted the Father.

"Che," the angry twin muttered before uttering a curt, "I'm Lovino."

Father Sanchez smiled and started talking again but Antonio wasn't listening. He was too busy staring at Lovino. He was frowning even harder than before and, though Antonio couldn't even begin to explain it, it was somehow even more endearing than his twin's smile. He struggled to take in a breath as he felt heat spread across his face in an unmistakable blush. Antonio's heart was starting to pound as that scowl passed over him again and a delicious tingling sensation was flowing through him.

Dear God, was he having a heart attack?

Hunched over his desk, Antonio forced himself to breathe and willed his heart to stop its wild pounding. Slowly, his breathing was returning to normal and his heart was beating just a fraction slower. The wonderful dizziness righted itself, too.

"The hell's wrong with you?"

Antonio's head whipped around to see that beautiful scowl aimed directly at him. Lovino had taken the empty desk next to his. Immediately, his heart sped up again to a dangerous beat.

"Nada," he gasped, reverting to Spanish he was so flustered. Catching his mistake, he quickly switched back to English. "I'm fine!"

One of Lovino's eyebrows was raised.

"Idiot," he muttered, somehow making the insult sound like the best compliment Antonio had ever received. The happy dizziness was coming back in full force and his stomach was doing some interesting things, too. Antonio couldn't keep a stupid grin off of his face as he forgot once more about his brush with a tattoo artist the previous night and leaned back straight onto his fresh tattoo.

His whimper of pain carried straight to the front of the classroom.

"Antonio, are you all right?" Father Sanchez asked, the concern evident on his face as he stopped writing on the board.

"Yes, Father, I'm fine," Antonio replied sheepishly as he leaned forward. He looked unconvinced, but continued whatever it was that he had been saying. Antonio ignored him.

The pain of his back had been an abrupt wake-up call. What the hell was he feeling right now? Antonio flushed again, but this time more from shame than anything else. What he had just felt was almost like attraction. He swallowed. That wasn't right. Lovino was male, he was male, he wasn't supposed to feel that way about another male! The church and his parents had been very clear; two people of the same gender were not supposed to feel that way. It was a sin. It said so in the Bible, didn't it?

And yet, why was it so terrible? Antonio risked another look at Lovino. His elbow was on the desk, propping his head up as he stared, bored, through the window. Just one look at his heart and stomach were fluttering again. He'd heard that kind of love be condemned, over and over, but now that he thought about it, was there any real reason why? After a few moments of pondering, Antonio couldn't come up with anything. Every time he'd hear the same condemnation, he'd simply accepted it.

Now he couldn't understand why. God was loving, wasn't He? Wasn't one of the Ten Commandments to "Love thy neighbor"? In fact, there were dozens of quotes about love in the Bible that were very open-ended. Wasn't all love good, then? That simple statement made more sense to Antonio than any argument against what he was feeling he'd ever heard.

Yet the idea still made him a little uncomfortable. After all, his elders and his church leaders knew what they were talking about. They had studied the Bible relentlessly. Did he really have any right to interpret things on his own? What if he was wrong? Antonio sighed as he leaned forward and massaged his temples. It was confusing. But even if it was a sin, and even if he burned in hell for it, Antonio couldn't help but already desire to feel that rushing of his heart that came whenever he looked at Lovino. He never wanted these feelings to stop. As wrong as they might have been, he knew already that there was no way he could walk away from the barrier he had just mentally broken down.

Antonio was still deeply entrenched in his thoughts when Father Sanchez let them go and he started walking home. He was a few blocks away from the church when he heard loud arguing in Italian. He looked over to see Lovino (there went his poor heart again) gripping his brother's shirt, shaking him slightly. The seemingly younger boy (Antonio had forgotten his name) was crying loudly. He rushed over.

"Is everything all right?" he asked. Lovino made the scoffing "che" sound again and glared at him fiercely.

"None of your business, bastard," he growled, letting go of his twin's shirt.

"We're lost," the younger one piped up. Lovino whirled on him again and shouted something in Italian. The younger one cowered again.

"Umm," Antonio felt awkward intervening, but the younger boy looked so sad and cute! He wanted to hug him again but resisted the urge. "If you're lost, I can help you find your way."

"No way in hell!"

"Yes, please!"

"Eh?" Lovino shouted as the younger boy latched onto Antonio's arm cheerfully.

"I'm Feliciano, what's your name?" he asked happily as Lovino sputtered indignantly in the background.

"I'm Antonio," Antonio replied, grinning. He was so cute! But Lovino, pouting, was still cuter. "What are you looking for?"

"Ve~ I forgot the address," Feliciano admitted. "We're trying to get to our Nonno's store."

"Stupid little brother," Lovino muttered under his breath before giving Antonio the address. "And you better get us home, soon, bastard!"

Luckily, the address Lovino had given Antonio was located only a few blocks away from his own house. He'd never heard of a store there before, but walked with the two boys all the way there, conversing happily with Feliciano and trying to get Lovino to talk. He was adorably stubborn about it and refused to talk unless he was insulting Antonio. But he didn't care. He was still talking to him and enjoying that strange rush that came with Lovino. It was enough to make him happy.

Even if everything Lovino had said to him had been an insult.

The walk ended too quickly. Antonio quickly found himself in front of a store that looked new, which apparently sold Italian food goods. A taller, older man with two hair curls similar to Lovino and Feliciano's was sweeping the front of the store.

"There you are!" he called out cheerfully to the boys. "I was afraid you got lost!"

"We did get lost, Nonno!" Feliciano cried out happily before hugging the older man. "But our new friend Antonio helped us find the store!"

"Hello!" the older man said, smiling warmly at Antonio. "I'm Romano Vargas. Thank you for helping my grandsons."

"We didn't need help," Lovino groused. Romano smiled slyly.

"Lovi, we just got a new shipment of tomatoes."

Lovino's sour face disappeared and he sprinted inside the store. Romano chuckled at his grandson's reaction, then at Antonio when he saw the longing look on his face.

"Would you like to come in?" he asked. "After rescuing my grandsons, I think you deserve a reward. Would it be okay if I gave you some tomatoes to make up for it?" Tears of sheer gratitude filled Antonio's eyes and he nodded eagerly before following Romano inside to the small kitchen attached to the store.

Antonio had no idea of the impact of the day's events. He was completely unaware of all of the trials and sadness that came with his discovery that day. At that moment, he never would have guessed that one day his parents would disown him for having a relationship with Lovino or that they would end up sharing a house and a life together. All he could focus on was the delicious tomatoes and Lovino's smile as they shared the fruit.

*"Nada" means "nothing".

*Confirmation is a Catholic rite of passage in which you become a full member of the church.

*"Nonno" is "grandfather".

*I named Rome Romano because it was the closest modern name that would fit him. Plus, if you shortened his name to make a nickname, you could always call him Roma, or Rome! See?