Antonio couldn't get away from Lovino the next day until the afternoon, when he suggested he go off with Feliciano. He wanted to believe that the box fell out of his pocket on the way to their room, and was picked up by one of the guests. Because if it had fallen out on the couch, and Roma found it, it was probably already gone. He tried asking around a bit, to everyone who was staying in that hallway, if they had seen anything. So far, he was striking out.

Eventually, he moped back to the room in time to find Lovino settling in for a nap. The Italian blinked up at him with a sleepy sort of surprise and yawned. "I'm gonna help set up for dinner in a few hours," he said, patting the bed beside him. "Did you find whatever you were looking for?"

Antonio took a tomato out of his pocket and handed it over. "Well, I found the tomatoes," he said, sighing gloomy. How was he going to ask Lovino to marry him if he didn't have the ring? But the sullen thoughts were eased from his mind when the young man smiled softly and bit into his favorite fruit, his warm golden eyes never leaving Antonio's.

"Never let it be said that you can't do one thing well, even if it's just scoping out tomatoes."

He smirked, leaned in and licked up a trail of the juice from Lovino's chin. "I'm awesome at scoping out tomatoes. I'm the best." Well, maybe he would find the ring by the time they had to leave. Pulling him down under the covers, Lovino kissed him fully, and with his wrist resting on Antonio's shoulder, he did not notice the lazy drip of juice running down the bronze bicep from the tomato in his hand. "Are you going to nap with me?" he asked, sucking briefly on Antonio's bottom lip.

He smiled against Lovino's mouth. "Not if you keep doing that." Antonio moved so he was laying down, and wrapped an arm around the Italian's waist.

While Antonio could feel Lovino's body stir in the beginning stages of excitement against his thigh, the young man did not seem keen to pursue any further action as he rested his cheek against the warmth of his lover's shoulder.

"Alright, we'll have a nap. But not for very long, we'll have to get up and get ready for dinner soon." And this was going to be another big dinner, with the whole family. Antonio hoped that they would at least be able to sit together that night, unlike the one before when Roma had made it so they would be very far from each other.

"Shhh. Vacation, remember?" he mumbled, and Antonio could feel the lightest of kisses being pressed against his shoulder. "Let's relax while we still can."

Antonio set an alarm on his phone to go off in two hours, and rested against Lovino. "Alright. Go to sleep." He kissed the top of his head, snuggling close to him.

.oOo.

"Stop fidgeting," Lovino snapped, wrenching Antonio back to attention by the tie around his neck. "For fuck's sake, Antonio, I've dressed five-year-olds who've been more composed than you. Could you just..." He quickly finished tightening the tie and smoothed down the front of Antonio's dark suit. But Antonio still pulled at it.

"It's too tight! I feel like I'm choking." Unfortunately the dog trainer was not used to having to dress up at all, and tonight was supposed to be even more of a formal dinner than the night before.

Lovino batted his hands away and tightened it properly again. "My aunts have been eyeing you like vultures for the kill," he said, lifting the tailored jacket and tucking in the crisp white shirt beneath that Antonio had not properly dealt with before. "You need to look presentable."

"I really don't see the point. I've already fucked up with your grandfather; do you really think your aunts will make a difference?" Neither of them had seen the old man all day, which was mostly a blessing. Antonio really shouldn't have said what he had last night.

Glancing briefly into Antonio's eyes, Lovino resumed smoothing down the suit, his hands coming to rest on the Spaniard's broad chest. "Do it because I think you look fucking edible in a suit, then," he said simply.

He smiled and stopped fiddling. "Well alright then. And after dinner, when we are all alone?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Internally, Antonio was still freaking out about finding the ring, but Lovino had given him something else to think about, so he tried very hard to push it to the back of his mind.

"We'll have see how well you're still put together when the evening's done," Lovino said with an air of flippancy. "If you're all disheveled and messy, I'll have to assume that you're ready for bed, won't I?"

Antonio stuck out his bottom lip. "Aww, if I'm all disheveled, won't that be even sexier?" He personally would like nothing better than seeing Lovino with his hair messed up, his suit jacket wrinkled, his tie loosened and his undershirt unbuttoned.

"Maybe some other time, but right now, I really am getting used to the sight of you in a suit." He leaned up to kiss Antonio briefly. "You're definitely coming to more formal functions with me from now on."

He groaned, hanging his head. "But they are so boring, I don't know how you can stand them as much as you do." Not to mention that he had to wear a tie. Antonio hated ties; they were incredibly uncomfortable.

"Nobody likes them," Lovino snorted, smoothing the curls back from Antonio's forehead before disappearing into the bathroom. "But they're expected of us. And I am so fucking bringing you along next time."

He emerged with his hair combed neatly and his own tie mostly hidden beneath the buttons of his own black suit. Lovino gave Antonio one more glance-over and seemed to deem him presentable. "Alright. Let's go stuff our faces and act as pretentious as the rest of my family."

"Alright. Maybe I'll be sitting beside Francis again. That guy is hilarious!" He had felt sorry for Ludwig the night before, because the Frenchman was so obviously hitting on him, but at least it made for an exciting dinner. The look on Lovino's face was pure disgust as they made their way down the hall.

"You've got to be shitting me. Of course you'd like him, you freak," he mumbled.

"Don't worry, it's not because I'm attracted to him or anything." Antonio latched onto Lovino, holding him by the hips. "To tell you the truth, last night there was this cute brunet guy down the table that I just could not tear my eyes away from. I really should get his number."

Swatting him away, Lovino continued down the hall, very obviously fighting the smile that was threatening to twitch its way onto his face as Antonio dogged behind him. "I wouldn't," he replied as they descended the stairs, sparing a cheeky glance in Antonio's direction. "Pretty sure he's taken."

Antonio chuckled, following closely behind. This time, he and Ludwig were allowed to sit a bit closer, but there were still a few chairs in between them and the brothers. It allowed Antonio to mostly ignore Roma, who seemed to be doing the same.

After dinner, when Roma invited everyone to the gardens behind the manner, Lovino stuck with his brother, chatting reservedly while Ludwig stood uncomfortably stiff nearby. Before Antonio could join them, a hand slipped over his shoulder and a glass of wine was pushed into his grasp. "Enjoying the view?" a rich voice asked with an amused lilt.

He looked over at the blond and grinned. "Very much. Of course, I'm sure it's just as nice in France, isn't it?" Of course, Lovino wasn't in the view in France, but he had always wanted to go visit.

Fondness tilted the curve of Francis' smile just so and he winked. "Oh, yes. Even more beautiful, in my humble opinion. But you're looking rather lovely yourself tonight." With no hint of subtlety in the least, Francis' eyes raked down Antonio's body. "You do clean up rather nicely."

"So I'm told," Antonio said, laughing while he spoke. He stiffened slightly when he saw Roma go up to Lovino and Feliciano, but soon he left them, and Lovino went off in the direction of the house. Well, he would be back in a few minutes; he didn't seem too angry. "So, if you're French, what exactly are you doing with all of the Italians?"

"My mother is the lady Esmeralda's cousin by marriage," he answered, "and they were good enough to welcome us warmly into their hearts and garden parties." Francis lifted his glass and smiled when a couple of young ladies passed, tittering flirtatiously.

He nodded, amazed at the family that Roma invited to these reunions. "Right. Lovino did say you were a distant cousin." He almost jumped when a strong hand gripped his shoulder, and looked behind him to see Roma. Francis very quickly occupied himself elsewhere and Roma took his place at Antonio's side. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it up to examine.

"I managed to draw Lovino's attention," he said nonchalantly, rotating the box between his fingers.

Antonio's eyes widened as he saw the ring box. So Roma did have it! "Oh, um, did you find that? I've been looking for it everywhere." He made a grab for it, just as Roma closed his hand around it. Dammit, did he make Lovino go away so that he wouldn't see this? He was confident that he could take the old man in a fight, but really didn't want to have to resort to that.

"A bit careless to just leave this lying around, weren't you?" Roma continued, popping the velvet top open and admiring the ring inside. "It must have been a stretch with your budget."

He laughed a bit nervously. "Yeah, it must have fallen out of my pocket. Er, thank you for finding it." There was no way that Roma would try to play keep away or something, right? Surely he was more mature than that!

Just as Antonio's nerves really began to get to him, Roma snapped the little box shut and passed it smoothly into Antonio's hand. "Make it memorable," he advised, sipping delicately at his own glass of wine and stepping away to intrude on the conversation a group of older women were having some feet away.

Antonio let out a sigh of relief, gripping the box tightly. Thank god, he had it back. Over one of the bushes he saw Lovino coming back to join the party. Spurred on by the return of the ring, he quickly made his way over to him and grabbed Lovino's hand before he could get away. Lovino attempted to walk past, but Antonio tugged insistently on his hand. He frowned. "I was gonna go talk to Feli-" he protested when the Spaniard began to drag him of into the vineyard.

"He'll be fine, come on." Antonio looked back and gave a huge smile. There wasn't going to be anything to mess it up this time. No matter what, he would make it the right atmosphere. He found a spot, far enough away from the party so that the people were just distant noises, but close enough so they could still mostly hear the music.

The sun had nearly disappeared over the horizon and the posts and vines curved around a small pond at the little place down the hill. Lovino frowned in confusion when Antonio stopped. Then he rolled his eyes as the soft sound of violin music drifted down the hill. "Aunt Fortuna never could resist showing off her orchestral prowess," he said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his designer trousers and circling the little pond.

Antonio followed him, and saw a small bush of wild flowers. He bent down and picked one of them, twirling in his fingers. Then he went to Lovino, lifted his hand to his cheek, and slipped the flower behind his ear. Lovino opened his mouth to protest, but Antonio covered it with a finger. "Just... please? Just for now."

Lovino frowned and nipped at Antonio's finger before he could pull it away. "You're being weird," he muttered, pulling the flower out from his hair and examining it before tucking it in his lapel instead.

The Spaniard's smile just grew. "You know, we're wasting this beautiful music." He took a step back, and held out a hand, palm facing up. "Dance with me?"

One fine brow arched as Lovino regarded his hand. He took it, smirking widely. "You dance?"

"We'll find out." Antonio pulled him forward, his other hand going to Lovino's waist. He mostly followed the music, not knowing many specific slow dance moves. He smiled down to Lovino, dancing around the pond. "Would you let me dip you?"

"Into the pond?" Lovino asked back with rhetorical sarcasm, but allowed Antonio to gently let his torso arch and fall before pulling him up again. Antonio held him close, thinking about the best way to do this. He spun Lovino, so that they ended up front to back, his arms wrapped around Lovino's smaller frame. "This place is really beautiful. But it still doesn't compare to you," he whispered in his ear.

He could feel Lovino shiver, and when the young man began to give a less-than-pleasant response, Antonio squeezed him about the middle. "Hey!"

"Don't ruin it," Antonio murmured, almost as if he spoke too loud, his own voice could ruin the moment. They weren't so much dancing anymore as they were just swaying to the music, moving back and forth. "Hey, Lovi? Close your eyes, alright? Don't ask, just close them." He started pulling the box out of his pocket.

Lovino heaved a long-suffering sigh and shifted in his arms. "You make all of these unreasonable demands- 'dance with me, close your eyes, fuck me even if I can't maintain an air of decency all night'-"

"Lovi. Shut up," Antonio said, laughing a little. "Are your eyes closed?" He heard Lovino huff and he nodded. With one hand Antonio opened the box, took out the ring, and put the box back in his pocket. Then, he grabbed Lovino's hand, and slipped it on his finger.

He heard Lovino's breath hitch and then he really was quiet, fingers outstretched before his eyes for the examining. Lovino stood completely still, his eyes transfixed on the gold and silver banded ring situated snugly on his left ring finger.

"It would make me really happy if you would stay with me forever. Will you marry me?" Antonio asked, his hand moving back to holding Lovino against him. It seemed that the Italian was almost speechless.

"You're fucking insane," Lovino breathed, gaping at the ring as though he had never seen anything like it before. When his hand began to tremble, Lovino lowered it and ducked his head away from Antonio. There was an almost-inaudible snuffling noise and when Antonio inquired, Lovino batted him away. "Stupid bastard," he sniffed, rubbing his eyes quickly before turning to face Antonio. Even though the sun had almost set completely, Antonio could tell that his face had turned bright red. "I don't really have a choice, do I? You'll just keep bugging me until I say yes."

His grin widened, so much that it almost hurt Antonio's cheeks. "Nope, you're not getting away with that. You actually have to say yes."

"You just live to fucking humble me, don't you," Lovino growled, pulling the man down for a deep, bruising kiss. He answered fervently when they parted for breath - "Yes, fuck, yes," - and Antonio ended up really quite mussed after all.

.oOo.

They lay in bed, Antonio not having quite caught his breath from the lovemaking session, and Lovino lifted his hand to the direction of the open window, staring at his hand in the moonlight. More specifically, his ring finger. Even more specifically, the ring on his finger.

"Hey, bastard," he said, a light smile twitching at the corners of his lips. "I think you put this on the wrong hand."

"What?" Antonio opened his eyes and looked at which hand it was on. Sure enough, it was the wrong one. "Oh damn! I looked it up, and thought about it before, but... well I was behind you, right? Sorry." He grabbed Lovino's hand, slipped the ring off, and put it on the other one. "There we go. All better."

Pulling him down for a lazy kiss, Lovino let his leg slip between Antonio's, pressing close despite the sweat and the heat. They parted wetly, and Lovino sighed against Antonio's jaw, experimenting with the unfamiliar weight on his left hand. "You must be out of your mind," he mused quietly.

He chuckled, placing a hand at the small of Lovino's back. "I actually think I'm brilliant. I mean hell, I already have the tattoo, right?"

"Out of your mind," Lovino reiterated, closing his eyes to the sensation that Antonio's fingers produced as they slid over his back. Quietly then, and quite out of the blue, he murmured, "My father was one of the men on the board of a rival company. I only know that much about him. I assume that he must be in line to take over the company, whoever he is, because he didn't even want to risk the sacrifice of his title to admit to his paternity." The fingertips of his right hand drew absentminded circles on Antonio's shoulder. "Mama never told us because she didn't want us to feel like we were unloved. So we never discussed our father. It just didn't happen."

Antonio was amazed at the freely given information, and didn't want to mess up the opportunity by saying something out of line, so he cautiously muttered back, "Really? Does that... bother you?" He continued making patterns in the sweaty skin of Lovino's back, wondering what had enticed the talkative mood.

Lovino shrugged. His hands stilled, curling against Antonio's side. "It was probably for the best. He was honest about where his loyalties lay, at least. Grandpa would have torn him to shreds otherwise. He could have hurt Mama. It was probably the most logical course of action to take."

"Right." Antonio sighed, content, and kissed Lovino's temple. "So wait, is he both you and your brother's father? I mean you two are at least two years apart, right?" If not more. He really should find out how old Feliciano was.

"Three," Lovino corrected, "and I don't know. I... I don't want to bring up any bad shit that makes Mama uncomfortable, so I've never asked."

He nodded slowly, closing his eyes for a second and resting his head against Lovino. "So, your Grandpa pretty much took over being your dad then?" Antonio was hesitant to bring up the topic of Roma, but maybe he would get some more information now.

Lovino made a noise of pure indignation. "He'd like to think so," he answered bitterly, settled only by the gentle brush of Antonio's fingers through his hair. "He was the patriarchal figure, and that's about as far as the comparison goes. He coddled Feliciano and gave him everything he ever wanted- it's a wonder Feli didn't grow up to be a spoiled shithead. And he... he taught me the business. You know. Resistance. Suspicion. Calculation. "

"Right." Antonio thought that there was much more to that, though. "Do you hate him for that?"

He received no answer for a short time, met only with silence, save for the gentle slip-rustle of sheets as Lovino shifted his legs into a more comfortable position. Then, "No. I don't hate the bastard. How could I? He's family."

There was a short laugh, but Antonio cut it off quickly. "You keep saying that, but it is very possible to hate family. I have an aunt that I would be grateful if she fell down the stairs and I never had to listen to her again. You have to put up with them because they're family, but you don't have to actually like them."

"It's not that simple," Lovino huffed. His cheek brushed against Antonio's wrist lightly when the Spaniard retracted his hand. "I'm not actively fond of anyone but Feliciano and Mama, and that's all that's really expected of me."

Antonio nuzzled up against him. "And me too right? But I think you're more than fond of me. I think you..." He paused, acting like he was thinking, "Hm, what is that word again? How do you feel about me again?"

"Irritated," Lovino answered dryly, crying out and squirming when Antonio tickled him viciously in response. "Fine! Fine! Geez. I love you, you demanding shit."

Antonio chuckled, stopped tickling him and gave him a tight hug. "That's so sweet of you to say! I love you too!" then he grabbed Lovino's hand, kissing the ring. It looked so nice on his finger.

"You're gonna smudge it," came Lovino's superficial complaint. He stroked Antonio's lower lip with his thumb thoughtfully.

"Tomorrow at breakfast, we should tell your family. Um, well, your grandpa kind of already knows, so don't be surprised if he jumps you or something." He turned the ring around on Lovino's finger.

"I don't want to tell them yet." Lovino's tone erred on the side of petulant, and his fingers stretched and flexed over Antonio's. "I've been able to keep people out of my business for only a few years. I don't want them flooding back in just yet. If they don't notice on their own, then it'll be their damn fault."

Antonio chuckled, because really he should have expected it. "Fine, but like it or not, when we get home I'm telling my family."

Thumbing the ring absentmindedly, Lovino nodded, pressing his nose under Antonio's jaw. "They're not going to come find our apartment and camp out, though, are they? I will fuckin' disappear if they do."

"Don't worry, my family is pretty normal. They might have us over for celebratory dinner or something, but that's about it." He wondered a little what Lovino's family was going to do when they found out.

Grumbling to himself, the younger of the two finally huffed in acquiescence. "Dinner's fine. As long as they can cook." He sniffed. "And it had better be fuckin' scrumptious."

"It will be. Old Spanish recipes and all that." Antonio reached down and dragged up the thin blanket, covering them both. "Well, let's go to sleep now. We'll be expected downstairs for breakfast tomorrow."

Yawning widely against Antonio's skin, Lovino burrowed in close. "We should skip breakfast," he tiredly mumbled. "Find better things to do than eat with my annoying relatives."

Antonio chuckled, ruffling Lovino's hair with his breath. "You know we have to go. After breakfast tomorrow, your relatives start leaving, so that will be the last time to talk to some of them. And your Grandfather will want everyone there."

He was answered with a half-hearted groan. "What are the chances I can change your mind if I promise wake-up fellatio?" he asked, fingers dipping below the blanket to brush lightly against the warm, soft hair below Antonio's navel.

The Spaniard pretended to mull it over. "Well... maybe we can be a bit late for breakfast."

.oOo.

Antonio and Roma spoke for almost the whole meal, and no one could understand what had happened. Yesterday they had been as tense as humanly possible, and now it was like they were best friends. Lovino looked ready to kill someone, since Roma kept telling embarrassing stories about him when he was a kid. He was on to the fifth awful anecdote, and though Lovino had promised himself that he wouldn't be storming out for the rest of the trip (really, every night was just silly; even he knew that) he could feel his legs tensing in preparation to bolt. It didn't help that Antonio had decided, somewhere during the humiliation, that he would play along with the teasing and cajoling. Lovino had reached his last straw.

"... And he wet the bed until he was at least, what was it Lovino... six? Seven?"

Lovino's face gave the impression that he was likely too mortified to speak. Antonio seemed utterly pleased. "Not Lovi, surely!"

"Oh yes," Roma chuckled, taking a sip of his coffee. "And did you know, when he was just a little thing, barely higher than my knee, he knocked over an entire bookshelf trying to help the maids? He was so embarrassed that he hasn't lifted a finger to do anything else since!"

Antonio laughed again at that, and threw an arm over Lovino's shoulders. "Don't worry, I will never ask you to help with anything ever again. Wouldn't want to bring back painful memories!"

At that, Lovino cracked. He pushed away from the table, hands balled up into fists. "You both suck ass," he growled before stomping up to his room. Everyone quieted down, even Roma and Antonio.

Their grandfather looked after him. "Yes, he has always had that temper as well." Roma's eyes shifted toward Antonio and for the first time that morning, they were calculating. "Are you going to run after him?" he asked, almost like a test. But Antonio didn't seem fazed at all. He just smiled and took a sip of milk.

"I'll wait a few minutes," he said. "If I go sooner, he just gets mad. If I give him a bit to cool off, he's a little more... receptive."

Roma's smile gave the nearest members of the family chills. "You know just how to play my grandson like a violin, don't you?"

"No sir," Antonio said, pushing back and standing. "I really think it's the other way around." He quickly left the dinning room, feeling a sense of deja vu, having run after him a few times already after he stormed out of the family meal. But when he opened the door, he didn't see Lovino in their room. He checked Feliciano's room next, but Lovino was not there, either. Antonio might have asked where Esmeralda was staying, but somehow he doubted that he would find Lovino there. He returned briskly to the dining room, where he ignored the many eyes that followed and pierced him, lightly touching Feliciano's shoulder to catch his attention. The boy twitched and tilted his face away from Ludwig.

"Hi Feliciano. Um, Lovi ran away again, and I can't find him. You wouldn't have any idea where he might go...?" Because it would take him forever to search the entire mansion, and by the time he found him, Lovino might be past the point of talking, having waited too long to be found.

"Oh, there are a lot of places. It's a big house. But, hmm..." Feliciano's head cocked to the side as he thought. "Well, he could be in the vineyard. He likes to run sometimes when he's not happy. Or he could be in the kitchen, because when he's upset the nice cooks bake him yummy things. Or- oh! You could try the library. When we were little and we played hide and seek, that's where he would always go first."

He nodded. "Alright, I'll try there first. Thank you, Feli." He turned to leave, but the happy voice stopped him.

"Oh! And there is one other place..."

Antonio found Lovino on the balcony of the study on the west wing's second floor. Feliciano had given him (literal) step-by-step directions to the study in which there was a cupboard that the maids were forever recounting of Lovino's childhood, where he would curl up and hide away when he was feeling particularly embarrassed or sad. The door to the balcony was cracked open just to the right of the cupboard and a warm breeze drifted inside.

"Hey," Antonio said, not wanting to startle him as he walked up and leaned on the railing as well, facing out to the vineyard. "This is a really nice view. I haven't seen it from here yet," he continued, since Lovino didn't seem very keen on talking. True to form, Lovino didn't speak. He stubbornly refused to acknowledge Antonio's existence at all, save for the slight tensing of his shoulders. "Silent treatment? Really, you're playing that card? Alright then. Have I told you how hot you look in those pants? I mean really, I could just squeeze your ass right now. It looks so plump and squeezable. If I knew you wouldn't hit me, I would slip my hand in there right now and finger you."

"Stop," Lovino snapped, shifting away from him with a snarling derision curled on his face. "Fuck off, Antonio."

But Antonio moved after him so that they weren't apart. "Lovi, why are you being like this? Everyone has embarrassing stories from their childhood. Would it help you if I told you some of mine? My first word was poop. My first kiss went to a melon, because I drew a face on it and was pretending I was the prince in Sleeping Beauty. Should I go on?"

Lovino didn't seem amused. "I don't want to fucking talk about this," he hissed, glaring out over the vast sea of vines and rich soil. "I didn't come here so you could find me, you bastard. I just want to be left alone." His frown deepened. "And I couldn't fit in that stupid fucking cupboard anymore."

Antonio laughed at that, now knowing why he hadn't been exactly where his brother said he had been. "Did you really think I wouldn't look? Or that I would give up before I found you? One talk to Feliciano and you were in the first place I looked. Obviously you weren't trying to hide that hard."

At that, Lovino bristled and turned sharply, walking back inside. "Well, excuse me while I go find somewhere suitably less fucking predictable!"

"Lovi, wait!" Antonio ran after him, and he caught him as they went inside the room. In order to stop him from leaving, Antonio backed Lovino up against the wall, bracing his hands on either side of him. "You can hit me all you want, but I'm not leaving you."

Swallowing thickly, a muscle Lovino's jaw ticked and he growled resignedly. The fighting, biting, spitting anger slowly began to calm behind his eyes. "I'm not going to hit you, bastard. I just want you to back off."

The look Antonio gave him was one of his more serious ones. "We both know I'm not going to do that. Look, I'm sorry we were joking around. Honestly, if you had told me that you hated your Grandfather and never wanted to see him, I wouldn't give a fuck about what he thought about me. But you said you don't hate him, so I'm trying to get him to like me. I'm sorry if that made you angry."

Lovino looked away, focusing on the china cabinet on the other side of the room. "I hate it when he tells those fucking stories," he said quietly, cheeks reddened with shame. "They- they get worse when he gets attention for them, a lot worse, things nobody needs to know, and you were playing right into it."

"Alright, you might not know this, but every single parent in the history of forever likes telling embarrassing stories about their kids. What could he tell me? I already know about the paintings, and the other things are just kid stuff. It's not like they're gonna change how I feel about you."

"Yeah, but...!" He cringed. "It's... I don't want you to look at me and know all of the stupid, embarrassing things that I did when I was a kid. It's already bad enough as it is without you knowing that I used to... wet the bed, or that I couldn't even dust a fucking shelf without knocking it over."

Antonio rolled his eyes and pulled Lovino in for a tight hug. "I don't care about that stuff, alright? Wetting the bed is nothing compared to some of the stuff I did as a kid. I could continue telling them to you, if that would make you feel any better."

The tension in his body slowly began to slacken and Lovino's nose pressed into the crook of his neck. "You're not even embarrassed," he mumbled. "It's pointless if you're not mortified."

"Oh, I am, trust me. You're the first person I ever told about my date with Sleeping Melon. But... it's you, so I'm alright with you knowing stuff about me." Antonio cupped Lovino's cheek in his hand, forcing him to look him in the eye. "And if it makes you happy, I'll tell you every embarrassing story that I know. And then when you meet my mom, she'll probably tell you even more."

Sniffing, Lovino batted his hands away, but leaned into him. "You don't have to make me sound like an overly-emotional idiot," he grumbled, rubbing his cheek against Antonio's shoulder. "Fuck, I hate this talking-it-out rule. It always ends in tears and sex. How does it always end in tears and sex?"

He laughed a little, closing his eyes for a second and then opening them to look down at Lovino. "We're just that special I guess. And it doesn't have to end in sex. Or tears, really." Although the sex part was pretty nice. He chuckled when Lovino vocalized his thoughts.

"I like the sex part, though." Lovino breathed in and exhaled slowly over Antonio's skin. Subtly, he gripped the hem of Antonio's shirt in his fingers. "I want to go home."

Antonio gave a little sigh. "Well, we'll be leaving in a few days. Can you make it 'til then?" He ran a hand along Lovino's arm, then up to cup his cheek again.

With a little huff, Lovino scowled up into Antonio's eyes without the fire of real displeasure behind them. "I want to go home with you. I miss the shitty coffee machine and our bed and our cheap-ass sheets."

He grinned at that. "Hey, those sheets were the nice ones at Walmart. Sorry they're not silk or whatever." Antonio dipped his head down for a quick kiss. "Just a few days, alright? Then we'll be home."

"We could go sooner," he murmured near to Antonio's mouth, eager and pleading. "We came early, after all. It would be acceptable. We could be on a plane tonight. I can make it happen."

Antonio hummed a bit, biting his lip. "Alright, how about this. We take a day or two, and we go to the coast, just us. It'll be nice. And we can come back in time to say goodbye to your brother before they leave." He grinned down at him.

With wide-eyed surprise, Lovino instantly blurted out an affirmative, pulling away from Antonio. "Let's get our things, come on!"

"Wait, now? We can't leave right now! Come on, we'll leave after lunch or something, alright? We still have to get a car and everything, just give us a few hours." He figured it would take them a while to tell everyone they were leaving for a few days.

Lovino groaned, allowing Antonio to take his hand as they left the quiet little study. "What's the point? What else is there to do around here? Antonio, I'm so fucking bored..."

"It'll take us a while to clean up the room, and pack all of our stuff and everything. Don't worry, we'll leave in a few hours. I promise. And we'll have to get a room close to the coast. Do you know where you want to go? Have a place in mind?"

"Anywhere with you, I just want to go. We can get a little place to stay, or we can just drive around, stay where we want, and... yeah, letting Grandpa pay for the plane tickets was a great idea. We can go anywhere, Antonio. Why wait?"

He laughed, squeezing Lovino's hand. "A few hours and we'll be gone. I'll start packing, you go tell your mom and brother, alright?"

Squeezing back briefly, Lovino gave him a little smile for the first time that day. "The vacation finally gets to fucking start."

.oOo.

Three hours later, they were traveling in a fairly small car on a dirt road. Antonio leaned back and put his feet on the dash, looking over at Lovino. "So are we just going to sleep in the car, driving around? That would be pretty fun."

The young, tanned thing at the wheel wrinkled his nose. "Ew. Fuck no. Do you know how bad we'd smell? No, I think we should drive up to the coast. We've got a villa in Gaeta. It will only take a few hours to drive there, which gives us plenty of time to have a quick nap and find somewhere nice for dinner. We won't be bumming on our real vacation. Idiot."

"It can be fun, sleeping whenever you get tired, showering when you can. Didn't you ever go for a road trip as a teenager?" Antonio chuckled at that, but had to admit to himself that it would be nice not to have to sleep in the crammed car.

"You're joking! You've met my mother. Do you think she would have let me do something like that?" Chuckling, Lovino fished out a pair of sunglasses from the glove compartment and slipped them on.

"Damn those make you look hot." Antonio grinned mischievously. "Too bad you're driving. Unless you want some road head?"

Visibly twitching, Lovino cleared his throat, cheeks burnt a ruddy hue. "D-dammit, Antonio! You never warned me before we started dating that you'd be so..."

"Sexy?" Antonio finished for him with an attractive smile.

"Horny," Lovino corrected thoughtfully, clearing his throat. "Is... that what you normally do when you take roadtrips then?"

Antonio rolled his head to the side as they went round a corner. "No, I've never given road head before. But I would be more than willing to try. I am very confident in your driving abilities." He would have started undressing Lovino already if he wasn't afraid that the shock would send them off the road.

He could see Lovino's knuckles turn white as they gripped the steering wheel, and a predatory grin crept upon Antonio's face. Lovino swallowed.

"T-that... um, I..."

It was fairly obvious that Lovino was too nervous to say yes to this, so Antonio gave a smile and undid his seat belt. "Alright, tell me to stop if you want." At least the dirt road they were on was completely empty besides them.

"A-Antonio!" he gasped, his lower half lifting of its own violation as Antonio leaned over to pay it mindful care. Lovino's cock was perked, interested and anticipating, beginning to grow uncomfortable under the constriction of his jeans. But that was doing nothing but the opposite of telling him to stop, so he quickly undid the zipper and reached inside, feeling that Lovino was already half hard. "Remember, don't crash." Antonio said in a sing song voice as he took his cock out of the slit in his boxers and took the first lick.

Above him, Lovino's breath hitched, but when Antonio glanced up, he found his lover's eyes firmly glued to the road, despite his pinkened cheeks and hooded eyes, which was encouraging.

Antonio had never been so glad they were driving an automatic, or else Lovino wouldn't have been able to change gears at all. Despite the awkward positioning, Antonio started sucking the now completely hard cock into his mouth, the noises above him beginning to arouse him as well. He could feel the firm shift of Lovino's stomach muscles beneath the soft layer of padding against his cheek, and once, just once, fingers fell down to brush away the dark curls that fell across Antonio's temple before Lovino focused himself back on the wheel.

Because it was just in the car, Antonio worked on getting him off quickly. Unfortunately, he didn't have access to Lovino's balls, but he made do with taking him as deeply as he felt comfortable. The car went over a bump, forcing his cock even deeper down his throat, and he had to pull back for a second to make sure he didn't gag.

Poor Lovino couldn't muffle his low cry and, quite shaken, began to breathe apologies, resting his hand between Antonio's shoulder blades. "Holy fucking hell, Antonio, shit..."

Antonio flexed his throat, figured he was alright to try again, and took Lovino down his throat, swallowing around him. He felt Lovino's thighs tense, and heard the stuttered warning from above him, so pulled back slightly just before hot come shot down his throat.

After he had cleaned Lovino up and tucked him away, he pulled back to grin at the look on Lovino's face. Sometimes after Lovino would come, his face would relax entirely, almost in a daze; it was the way he looked after a long nap or a hot bath, and it most certainly felt like an accomplishment. When the Italian had composed himself, he cleared his throat, the color never having receded from his cheeks. "We should, um... take road trips more often."

Antonio laughed loudly at that, throwing his head against the head rest. When he had mostly calmed down, he glanced at Lovino, which made him crack up again. Yes, road trips were great with the right company.

.oOo.

Antonio thought he would burst after the phenomenal, but seemingly endless meal Lovino had treated him to, and Lovino had told him that a walk would help. Antonio wondered if Lovino only said so because he hadn't felt like exploding as much as Antonio did. In fact, the Italian strolled down the beach with such ease that nobody would think he'd made his way through a four course meal and two glasses of wine.

Admittedly, the warm sand between his toes was very pleasant, and the sight of Lovino splashing barefoot in the moonlight along the coast of the vast ocean wasn't bad, either.

He laughed at him, bent down and splashed some water up at Lovino's back. "That's payback for making such delicious food!" Antonio screeched when Lovino splashed him back, having completely expected it. The water was fairly warm, even though the sun had been down for at least an hour.

Gaeta was beautiful, as Lovino had promised, and there were a handful of apparently famous beaches, but the Vargas villa was located snugly on one that had remained completely deserted all evening (privately-owned, Antonio suspected). The sky was clean and bright, and the moon reflected its silvery light over the calm ripples that ebbed to and from the shore. Lovino and Antonio seemed to be making more waves than the tide itself.

Eventually, Antonio tackled Lovino down, splashing into the shallow water, laughing as Lovino looked up at him with a frown. "Aww, don't be like that, babe! You know you like being wet." He laughed again at the horrified expression on Lovino's face. He had to admit, it was nice being away from the vineyard and all the family therein.

Lovino leaned in, and Antonio closed his eyes in anticipation, but the young man seemed to think better and pulled back with a sigh. "It's no use. You'd be all salty and gross. Too fucking bad."

Antonio rolled his eyes, and leaned down anyway, pushing their lips together. The kiss was fairly salty, but neither of them were complaining after that. Lovino's fingers slipped against the warm skin of Antonio's side peeking out from his soaked shirt, his nails skimming around to the small of Antonio's back. He deepened the kiss with ardent, practiced ease, sucking lightly on the Spaniard's lip. The Spaniard pulled away slightly, just to start kissing other parts of Lovino's face. "Hey Lovi... you love me, right? Would you do anything for me?" Antonio whispered in his ear between kisses to his neck, and anywhere that wasn't covered in sand.

An interesting trail of gooseflesh followed Antonio's kisses across Lovino's shoulder, and despite the warm the air and the sea, Lovino shivered. "Maybe," he murmured, "yeah, probably."

Antonio smiled at that. "What would you do for me? Would you... read a stupid book for me?" There was an affirmative grunt when he started kissing Lovino's neck. "Would you... make a fool out of yourself for me?"

"I already do," he chuckled, tangling his fingers in Antonio's wet, dark curls.

"Yeah, you do. Would you... still kiss me when we're both old and wrinkly and my teeth are falling out?" Antonio kissed along Lovino's shoulder where his shirt had slipped down his shoulder in their water fight.

"Depends," Lovino breathed, stroking the curls fondly. "Do you have a younger brother?"

Antonio chuckled deeply, pinching Lovino's arm. "Only an older sister. And she's married with a kid."

With a sigh, Lovino rested his forehead against Antonio's temple, ignoring the rivulets from the locks dripping down his nose. "Well," he huffed, "then I guess I'll have to put up with you, even when you're in dentures."

He smiled, and continued. "Right. Would you... maybe paint me a picture?" Antonio paused at this, knowing he had to tread carefully. Hopefully Lovino wouldn't treat it any differently than the other questions.

To his surprise, a thoughtful noise hummed in Lovino's throat. "Maybe," he answered. And then he kissed Antonio softly. "But I'm not climbing any fucking mountains or swimming any oceans. You just stay wherever the fuck I happen to be."

"What, so you wouldn't climb Mt Everest with me?" Antonio said, chuckling. Then he rolled over so he wasn't on top of the Italian anymore. "Well, I'm sure you want to have a shower now, or else you'll be complaining of sand everywhere tomorrow."

Lovino splashed him, a look of utter importance on his face. "I'll start now. I've got sand in my shirt, probably in my ass, behind my ears-"

"Oh no you don't!" Antonio held a finger to Lovino's lips. "No complaining allowed! We are on vacation from our vacation, because you wanted to get away."

They made their way back to the villa, which sat just off the far edge of the beach.

"Ah-ah!" Lovino grabbed Antonio's arm and pulled him back from the door, a smirk on his face. "Last one to strip has to sweep the sand from the hall!"

"No fair! You don't have socks on!" Antonio yelled, already pulling his shirt over his head and starting on his pants. There was already sand falling everywhere, and neither of them wanted to be the one to clean it up.

"You lost before you started," Lovino barked, wiggling out of his sopping wet underpants. "You can't out-strip an Italian!" Lovino made it in first, cackling the cackle of a practiced mischief-maker, and ran down the undecorated wood-panel hall with not a single cloth on his back.

Antonio sighed as he stripped off his socks. Well, he would clean it up after the shower. "I bet Francis could beat you!" He had heard stories at all the dinners, after all. When he got in the bathroom, the shower was already running and fogging up the mirror.

"Like fuck he could," came Lovino's voice from beyond the curtain.

The Spaniard stepped in, and once the curtain was closed, he shook his hair out to get some sand out. Lovino shouted at him to stop, which of course made Antonio shake it even harder. Lovino grabbed the bottle of cheap drugstore shampoo and scrubbed Antonio's hair thoroughly, wrinkling his nose when sandy suds slid down Antonio's body. "Make sure to get that all out. You get to change the sheets tomorrow if there's sand in them."

"I thought all the Vargas villas would have servants for all this stuff," Antonio mumbled, grabbing a cloth to wash himself with, since Lovino was currently hogging the stream of water.

"Only if you bring them," Lovino snorted. "Did you think they'd just live here and wait for someone to come stay for a random weekend? Most people plan ahead."

He shrugged, and grabbed the shampoo. "How am I supposed to know? You're the one with the rich family."

"I think it's..." Lovino shook his head and lathered soap in his hands, scrubbing down his arms and torso. "It's like having a bunch of really weird people in your house. Usually they're either really chatty, or sort of afraid of you. I like doing things for myself. Turn around."

Antonio did as asked, and felt a soapy hand on his back. "So you're saying that if your grandpa sent over a servant to clean up our apartment, cook for us, do everything, that you wouldn't want it? You're always complaining that I don't clean enough!"

"Yeah, but it's normal for two adults to take care of their own shit. It doesn't make sense to have to pay someone to do something you can do yourself." Lovino pinched Antonio's ass. "And you can do it yourself, you lazy fuck."

"I am clean enough. It's not my fault you like everything extremely tidy." And he made sure to be clean everywhere else, like when they were here he kept his things off the floor. It was just in his own house that he let it get a little messy.

With a decidedly pointed nip at the back of Antonio's shoulder, Lovino countered, "I was working on that Pavlovian thing. But I guess it hasn't worked just yet."

He quirked an eyebrow and turned around when Lovino was finished with his back. "Oh? Well, I'm not a dog and I haven't heard any bells. What were you trying to do?"

Lovino grinned briefly before turning his back to grab the shampoo for himself. "You really didn't notice the little gift I gave you every morning after you vacuumed?" he asked nonchalantly, rubbing the scented suds through his hair.

Antonio laughed and shook his head. "So I'll get that whenever I do some house work? Well, that might actually make it worth cleaning up every once in a while." Then he put his hands on his hips. "Now why didn't I get that whenever I did the dishes?"

"Because I do the laundry," he answered shortly, rinsing his hair out under the hot spray. "It's a fair exchange. I gift you with my motherfucking presence, and that should be enough of a reward."

"That's not fair. I would be much more willing to do the dishes if I got a treat after." When he was sure that he had gotten all the sand out of all the nooks and crannies, Antonio grabbed the conditioner and began working it through his hair.

"I am a treat," Lovino insisted, turning to grab the conditioner from him and mimicked the action. Once it was all rinsed out and the faucet turned off, Lovino heaved a great yawn. "I can't believe I let you talk me out of that nap earlier."

Antonio laughed and stepped out of the shower once he was rinsed off, grabbing a few towels. "You always take naps! You can't sleep your life away." Once he was mostly dry, Antonio wrapped a towel around his waist and went out to start cleaning up all the sand. Luckily most of it could be swept up.

Lovino was already curled up on his side of the bed in one of the guest rooms, snuggled beneath fresh linen sheets. A warm breeze rolled in through the open bay window and Antonio pressed himself right up against Lovino's back.

In a drowsy voice, Lovino murmured, "This was my room when I was a kid." He interrupted himself with a yawn. "I always liked it best because you can hear the waves. It's nice."

"Yeah? It's a nice room." He had noticed a spot of blue on the wood floor earlier, and now suspected it to be paint. So Lovino painted in this room. Was this also the house that he had burnt the paintings in?

With a little hum, Lovino's fingers curled around Antonio's wrist. "'m glad you're with me," he mumbled quietly, almost to quietly to hear.

Antonio sighed, completely content at that moment. They were in a villa on a beach in Italy, and he was engaged to the most lovely and interesting man he'd ever met. Antonio hugged Lovino tightly, placing a kiss on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm glad I'm with you, too." And they both knew that they weren't just talking about being together at that villa.

Slowly and sweetly, the two quiet lovers were cradled to sleep by the warm breeze and the sound of gentle waves upon the shore.

.oOo.

Lovino was woken in the morning by someone shaking his shoulder gently and kissing him on the forehead. He opened his eyes and glared at the dark shape above him.

"Hey babe, I promised my niece I would bring her back something cool, so I'm gonna go into that small town for a few hours. I'm taking the car. See you soon." Antonio stood up, quickly making his way to the door, already completely dressed.

A sleepy grumble was all the greeting he received in response and Antonio chuckled, moving briskly out of the house and onto the little stone path that led to the car. He pulled the phone from his back pocket and found the contact he was looking for as he slid into the compact vehicle.

A cheerful voice sounded from the other line. "Hey Feli, it's Antonio! ...No, I'm not with Lovino right now... Don't worry, he just went back to bed. I actually need to ask you a question... No, not about pasta. What did Lovino used to use to paint? ...And is that what he used too? ...Alright, I'll try to find those. Um, please don't tell anyone... Well alright you can tell Ludwig, but no one from the family, alright? ...Alright. Thanks Feliciano! Say hi to everyone for us!" He hung up and put his cell on the passenger seat, and started driving into the town.

When he returned, he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised to find Lovino still curled up in bed exactly as he'd left him, and he couldn't really say that he was. With an affectionate sort of exasperation, Antonio tussled Lovino's hair and poked him. "Nnngfuuuuck. Whaaatt."

"I've got something to show you. Come outside with me." Antonio was aware that just waking Lovino up may not put him in the best of moods, but hopefully he could cheer him up enough not to get angry at what he had done.

"Should bring it'n here," Lovino mumbled, but dragged himself out of the bed nonetheless. He followed Antonio at a slow, easy pace, and Antonio tutted and had to pull him out of the kitchen when he made a turn into it. "Wha- damn, surely I can make myself a cup of coffee before I go see whatever the fuck it is," Lovino growled in complaint.

He chuckled and dragged him to the door. "I got you some coffee from in town. It's in the car. You can have it after you see what I want to show you." Antonio put his hand on the door handle. "Close your eyes."

With a grumble and a frown, Lovino complied, shutting his eyes as he came to stand beside the door. "If it's a horse, or any other living organism, it's your responsibility," he warned.

"It's not a pet, don't worry." Antonio positioned them in front of where he had set everything up. "Alright, open your eyes now."

The canvas was not terribly large, nor was it of impressive quality. The same could be said about paints scattered in little tubes along the bottom of the easel. But everything was done up neatly on the little path from the villa to the sea, and behind it the vast ocean rolled beyond the beach. Lovino took a moment to take all of it in before turning to Antonio with an odd expression on his face. "What..."

Antonio had an insanely large grin on his face. "You said you would paint a picture for me," he said simply. It was obvious that Lovino had once loved painting, and Antonio wanted him to feel he could do it again.

"I- what? I said maybe." He frowned. "And you tricked me! You were just asking stupid questions. I thought it was another one of them. Fuck, Antonio..."

"Too bad, you said it. And this place is beautiful, and I left my camera at the vineyard." It was a poor excuse and they both knew it, but if Lovino needed a reason to start painting again, he would give him one.

For a moment, Lovino seemed thoughtful. He approached the easel and lifted one of the paints, gazing at the green liquid for a long few minutes, but to Antonio's dismay he shook his head and set it back down. "I can't anymore. Thank you for thinking of me, but I... can't."

Antonio went behind him and picked up another of the paints. "Don't worry, with practice I'm sure you'll be great! Come on, just try to paint something, like the sea!" He pointed out to the ocean, smiling at him.

"Antonio," he hissed, cheeks stained a shameful red. "There was a reason my grandfather didn't have the time to look at my shit. And the only people I had to critique me were mollycoddling nannies and my blind baby brother. I definitely could not paint well then, and I can't imagine I'd do anything properly now."

The Spaniard looked a little sad at that, and he hugged Lovino tightly from behind. "If you liked painting, and you still like painting, that's all that matters." Antonio squeezed him, resting his head on his shoulder. "Anyone can paint a picture, if it's good or if it isn't, that doesn't matter. But if it's from the heart, it will be beautiful anyway."

"You're such a fuckin' cheeseball," Lovino groused, but tilted his head to the side until his cheek rested against the dark curls at Antonio's temple. He closed his eyes briefly and sighed. "We don't have enough time for me to paint this," he finally said, stroking Antonio's arm with his thumb. "There's only a day left. I want to spend it with you."

Antonio chuckled, putting his hand over Lovino's. "Well, if we leave after dinner tomorrow, I could drive at night and we would still get back in time to say goodbye to your brother. I can take a nap while you paint? You should have fun with it. I want you to be able to enjoy it again."

"Antonio..." Lovino gazed at the canvas and at the sea beyond. "It will be rushed," he said quietly. "It won't be any good at all. I don't want to waste my time here. Are you sure it can't wait until we get home?"

He smiled and kissed the side of Lovino's head. "Alright. I don't want to rush you or anything. But will you try it again? When we get back?" Antonio went to pick up the canvas and he put it back in the car, along with the paints. It was going to be difficult getting it back on the train, maybe he could try to return it and get a new one in America.

Biting his lip, Lovino gave a hesitant nod and gazed down at his feet. "If it's shit, I don't want to keep it just because you don't want to hurt my feelings," he insisted when Antonio had returned to his side. "Because that's exactly the kind of shit stunt you would pull, and I won't have it. Now where's my coffee?"

The coffee was grabbed from the cup holders, and he handed him one. "Alright. But then you have to promise not to just give up if the first one isn't very good. You haven't been painting for years, so it might not be good, but you'll get better."

"Paint and canvases are expensive." Lovino sipped the drink and wrinkled his nose when it ran lukewarm over his tongue.

"So is wine, but you drink a hell of a lot of that. It's worth it for a hobby that you like doing!" Antonio leaned against the hood of the car, drinking his own coffee that was already half gone. "And maybe you'll get really good and be able to sell some paintings."

"I... no, I couldn't," he said, rubbing the side of his neck and staring at the white lid of his coffee cup. Abashedly, he began to edge away. "I, um, I'm gonna heat this shit up."

Antonio followed after him, not caring if Lovino wanted to be alone or not. "Well, when you get really good and you like painting again, we should come back here. Or somewhere just as beautiful. Imagine Japan, when the cherry trees are blossoming! That would be wonderful!"

"Shut up," Lovino snorted, fumbling groggily with the microwave. "I travel so much for business that the novelty's almost gone. I'd rather paint the front door."

The Spaniard chuckled at that, fingering the rim of his own cup. "Maybe you shouldn't paint landscapes then. Maybe you should paint nudes! I would gladly be a model."

"Why would I want to paint that where any poor sucker could see?" the Italian asked. "I wouldn't want to burn anyone's retinas. Think of the children."

"You don't seem to complain." Antonio drained the last of his coffee. "And we could artfully cover up the naughty bits, maybe with... with a bowl of tomatoes!" He laughed as he grabbed the bowl of tomatoes from the table, holding it in front of his crotch.

Rolling his eyes, Lovino took his coffee from the microwave and sipped at it, hissing as the first taste scalded his tongue. "Fuck, ugh. I won't be painting a nude of you. Keep it under your clothes. Or wherever no one else will see." He sniffed. "That's my burden alone."

Antonio raised an eyebrow, putting the bowl back. "Would you be jealous if everyone could see me? You think that you should be the only one who can see me naked? Because if that was the reason, I would be alright with you not doing a nude picture of me."

"I wouldn't be jealous!" Lovino spluttered, the scowl on his face offset by the red in his cheeks. "You are one arrogant bastard if you think... I just don't want anyone else to... shut up!"

He was chuckling as he pulled Lovino closer by his hips. "It makes me really happy that you want to keep me to yourself. I wouldn't want anyone else seeing you naked either." Antonio kissed him on the mouth, opening up his lips to dip inside.

"Fuck you," Lovino mumbled, pulling back only marginally to switch up the position of their mouths before letting Antonio's tongue curl around his. He spread his fingers over the warm strip of back that was revealed from the slow upward drift of Antonio's shirt. Antonio chuckled through the kiss, but quieted when Lovino nipped his lip to get him to stop. Eventually, the slender Italian was lifted up onto the counter, and he never once complained about making love in the kitchen.

.oOo.

A month after returning from Italy, Lovino struck a deal with Ludwig that allowed him to sneak him into the kennels after the school had closed (bribed stealthily with Feliciano's baby pictures). He spent a few hours every week with the "smelly, fucking annoying" working dogs, a small canvas laid over his lap and a pencil in his fingers. Some days he grew frustrated and left within half an hour, but others found him very pleased with the work he did. Of course, there were still mistakes that he would try to fix the next day, like the size of the paws, or the ears not just right. But when he was happy with it, he just stayed at home to paint. He went through four small canvases before he finally felt that the tones and shading were right and proudly tucked it away to dry in hiding one particular night before he made his way to bed, certain that Antonio would already be asleep for the lateness of the hour.

Lovino decided that the next day, he would show the painting to his lover. But he grew nervous, and finally decided against it when the next day came and went, thinking that the following day, he definitely would. Not that it was really all that good, of course, and maybe Antonio wouldn't like it? Of course he would say that he did, pretend like it was amazing, because that is just what Antonio always did. But would he really like it?

So he put it off for the next day, and then the next, and by the time the puppy was almost fully grown and ready to be trained with a human companion, the painting had begun collecting dust in the back of the coat closet.

It probably would have stayed there, but Lovino knew that Antonio's birthday was coming up the following week. Of course he had looked for something at the mall, but couldn't really find anything personal enough, and he was definitely not getting what Antonio had asked for, which was Lovino in a sexy maid outfit. He was quickly running out of options and time.

And that special night, when he sat across the kitchen table from Antonio, the remnants of a very rich, very delicious meal scattered around the petite chocolate cake that Antonio took the liberty of cutting, he finally took a deep breath and stood. "I'll, um... I'll be right back."

"Better hurry up before I eat this whole cake! It looks delicious!" It had actually been made by Ludwig, which seemed like the funniest thing. Antonio cut another piece and put it on the plate for Lovino, despite what he said. A few minutes ticked by with no response, which was... odd. Antonio glanced down the hall and called Lovino's name. When he received no reply, a delightful little thought entered his brain. Maybe Lovino had gone with the maid idea after all. Maybe he was waiting in the bedroom for Antonio at that very moment.

With that thought in mind, he left the cake and went to their room. The door was open just a crack, and he peeked in, and could only see Lovino's side. Well, definitely not the maid outfit. It looked like he was holding something, but Antonio couldn't really see what it was.

Lovino jumped when Antonio said his name and stared at the man with wide, conflicted eyes before he straightened himself up and moved purposefully toward his fiance, thrusting the small canvas out. "Here."

Antonio was momentarily confused, until he looked down at the colorful picture in Lovino's hands. He took it and looked at it, smiling at the puppy rolling around in the grass. He recognized one of the spots as belonging to a dog he was working with, who was now much older than in the picture. "I love it!" And he really did. It was a wonderful painting. "Hm... but something is missing..."

The Italian's face burned and he ducked his head, opening his mouth. "Y-yeah, I know it's not, um... anything special, you can just put it back in the closet..."

But for some reason, Antonio was looking around on the desk, and then he came out triumphantly with a black felt-tipped pen. "All great artists sign their work! You didn't put your signature on it."

Looking from the marker to Antonio and back to the marker again, Lovino tentatively took it from Antonio's fingers and scribbled his initials on the back. But even then, he did everything to keep from meeting Antonio's eyes. "So, yeah, happy birthday. You cut the cake, right? We should eat some."

"No," Antonio said, laughing. He turned the painting face up and put it on the desk, pointing to the bottom corner. "Sign it here! Come on, you gotta sign it. If you don't sign it, anyone could, and call it theirs. And everyone should know that you painted this."

"It's not... nobody's going to want to take credit for that, bastard." He shuffled toward the door. "Come on, there's a chocolate cake waiting to be devoured."

Once again, he was not allowed to leave, Antonio's hand tugging on his arm. "What, you don't like it? Lovi, it's wonderful! I'm sure that even Princess would love the picture of her! But it's not finished until you sign it. Everyone knows that."

So quickly, Lovino did the same in the right hand corner of the front that he had on the back. "There!" he groused. "Happy now?"

"Mmm, ecstatic," was murmured in his ear, and Antonio wrapped his hand around Lovino's waist to bring him closer. "But of course, this is only the first of many in the Lovino Vargas collection. And I will have the best collection in the world."

"You're an idiot," Lovino chided simply, allowing a kiss to be pressed to his temple and returning it to Antonio's chin. "Why I let you talk me into anything is a mystery."

Antonio nuzzled into his neck, making sure that the painting was safely on the desk. "It's because I'm sexy. Speaking of sexy, I knew you wouldn't get the maid outfit, so I took the liberty of getting one myself..."

"So then you can be the one to wear it."

And with that, Lovino was out of the room, despite Antonio's pleas. There were just some things even the birthday boy couldn't have.

So that brings us to the end of this story. Hopefully you all enjoyed it, we worked really hard on this one. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave us a review, and tell us how we did!