When things don’t really go as planned

Lovino was walking the streets wearing a woolen scarf around his neck and hiding his slightly numb and reddened hands in the large pockets of his winter jacket, cursing himself for not having put on gloves and another pair of socks, since his feet were also starting to turn into two ice blocks. But it was truly unusually cold on that 14th of February. Really damn cold, as if they were in the middle of winter and not about to face the arrival of spring. And still, even though Lovino's hands and feet were freezing so much that they were burning, he was feeling a scorching hot anticipation inside, with flames that were dancing wildly and yet pleasantly warming him up like a cozy fireplace. It was the joy of being able to see his Spanish boyfriend Antonio soon, to whose house he was currently heading. Or rather, their house, given that they were living together. A joy that was barely written on his face, though, since the Italian wasn't the kind of person to openly show his deepest emotions around. But Antonio was still able to read him like an open book, to discover the love and affection Lovino was hiding under and between his roughness and insults, wearing an eternal frown on his face. Antonio was the only one who could do that. The only one apart from Lovino’s brother Feliciano. His two most important people in the world. But the Italian would never dare to say it out loud, of course. Instead, he just frowned again and turned beet-red. Or in his case: tomato-red. He tugged absent-mindedly on his scarf with his index finger as he walked, revealing his mouth and observing the little clouds leaving it at every exhalation, before he covered it up once again after a while, thinking of Antonio's beautiful green eyes he would be able to see again very soon… his eyes and his smile that was always genuine when directed at him… They hadn't had barely any chance to see each other for a few days because of work, but had agreed to take some days of vacation at the same time in order to celebrate Valentine's Day and go on several dates after that, like they did every year. Yes, only for a mere few days, not even a week, which was nothing but a fleeting moment, since the two of them did live together and were still sleeping in the same bed, but since they had very different work shifts recently, one of them had already been asleep when the other one came home (even though Antonio had always been trying to stay awake and wait for his beloved). And the Italian felt as if something was missing in his life without their interactions. As if these few days of not hearing Antonio's chatter nor laughter had dug a deep hole of emptiness in his chest, even though Lovino was usually constantly complaining just how annoying that Spanish bastard was. The two of them had been together for so long, yet Lovino still couldn't help feeling a slight nervousness whenever he was around his partner. Still hesitating to believe that there was truly someone in that world who loved him exactly the way he was. And still fearing that all of it would turn out to be a mere dream one day, and he would wake up from a long coma and into his suffocating loneliness again. Though he didn't suspect that Antonio knew even that deeply hidden detail about him and was always trying to shower him with love whenever he could in order to prove to him that he was, indeed, real. As if to dissipate that unpleasant thought, Lovino placed his hand on the box he was carrying in the bag hanging from his shoulder together with some of his other belongings he was taking home after having spent the last night at his brother’s house, visiting him. Inside the box was a chocolate… no, not a heart, a tomato! Now, Lovino considered himself a fairly good cook and was proud of his skills, however, he had to admit that he didn't have too much experience making sweets and wasn’t sure whether his creation that was, of course, not as amazing as the chocolate Feliciano had made for his own boyfriend, turned out alright. But he still hoped that his beloved bastard would like it, since he had put all his feelings into that round piece of chocolate. But then again, he could give Antonio a literal piece of garbage, and the other would still jump from joy… he would be happy about anything as long as it was from Lovino. “Dumbass,” Lovino muttered, blushing once again and accelerating his step in order to escape the cold as soon as possible. *** Some ten minutes or so later, the Italian was finally approaching their home, recognizing the familiar street without even having to raise his gaze from the ground. And almost yelled out loud when he was attacked out of the blue and almost ended up with his rear end on the pavement, managing to maintain his balance and keep himself on his feet at the last moment. What promptly followed after his initial scare was gone, was a very appropriate reaction by releasing a series of very, ahem, explicit Italian curse words. However, these never made it to the ears of the neighbors and people walking on the street nearby, being muffled by the chest muscles of Antonio, who had arrived running as soon as he spotted Lovino, threw himself at him and hugged him as if his life depended on it, almost crushing his ribs in the process. “LOVIIII! You’re finally here!” “You goddamn bastard!” Lovino wheezed, struggling to free himself since he had trouble breathing. “What the fucking hell?!” But Antonio was still smiling brightly, as brightly as the sun itself. He wrapped his arms around Lovino's waist, picking him up from the ground and starting to spin him around, laughing from pure joy. “Oh, mi tomatito, I missed you so much! We haven't seen each other for an eternity!” “Just for a few damn days, and not even that because we were still living in the same house! Don’t be so overdramatic! And put me down already!” “Aww, but a few days without my Lovi feel like an eternity to me!” Naturally, the Italian didn't even think of admitting that he had missed his partner as well. But his blush belied his words entirely. Finally, Antonio obeyed and put him down on his feet again, holding him by the shoulders now. And it was a good thing he did, because Lovino needed a while to stand steadily once more, since his head was still spinning a bit. Which the other immediately took advantage of by kissing him on the lips. “Sorry, Lovi, I just couldn't help it, hehe…” Antonio then apologized with a giggle, scratching the back of his head. Lovino humphed and quickly checked whether the box with the precious homemade chocolate in his bag was still alright and hadn't been harmed by all these previous impulsive movements. Thankfully, it didn't break. If it had, then the Spaniard's Valentine's Day’s present would have been a very passionate punch to the face instead of chocolate. Having calmed down again, Lovino was about to call him an idiot, but then suddenly stopped in his tracks as a rather unsettling detail caught his attention and made him forget his annoyance: Antonio, who was still smiling widely at him, wasn't wearing any coat despite the frosty temperatures outside… and was trembling like a leaf! “What the hell!” the Italian screamed, grabbing him by the arms and only then noticing how cold the Spaniard's body was. “How long have you been outside like that?! Have you lost your damn mind?!” Antonio just shrugged, as if everything was perfectly well, rubbing his arms a bit in an attempt to warm up. “Hm, dunno, an hour, maybe. I was so looking forward to seeing you that I couldn't take it any longer and decided to sit by the entrance, looking out for you. But don’t worry, that's nothing to me! My burning love for you was keeping me warm the entire time!” Antonio said with confidence and put his hands on his hips, before proceeding to hug Lovino once more, who just rolled his eyes, not believing that the other was really able to say things like these out aloud without dying from embarrassment. Lovino could indeed not comprehend that level of stupidity, even though he must have already been used to it after all that time. But still, despite it being entirely Antonio’s fault, he couldn't avoid perceiving a stinging feeling of guilt in his heart. If he knew, he would have walked faster… Or rather, he should have known just how anxiously Antonio was waiting for him… “You bastard! How can you be so dumb?! You’ll catch a cold at this rate! Or pneumonia!” There was worry lingering in his voice as he wriggled himself out of Antonio’s arms again and took off his scarf, wrapping it around Antonio’s neck instead. “Here, take at least this! And let’s get inside already, I’m freezing my ass off in that fucking cold!” The last sentence was said mostly to hide his awkwardness as always, but also to finally get Antonio back into the warm house, for Lovino was a very caring person towards the ones he loved, but it wasn't easy for him to openly show it. Even though he was perfectly aware that he didn't even need to in Antonio's case, since the latter knew him almost better than himself and would never be deceived by his harsh words. Hence, that thoughtful action of his was promptly rewarded with another kiss. “Thank you so much, Lovi! You're the best! Yeah, let’s go, I have flowers for you and wine and chocolate and…” And while the Spaniard was cheerfully chatting with him, Lovino just took him by the hand without saying another word and guided him inside the warm house, barely listening. First of all, he would sit Antonio down on the couch, wrap him into a blanket and make some good, hot chocolate. The presents could wait. Yes, this was how worried he was. *** It was the next morning. Wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, Lovino was sitting on the bed and answering some text messages from his brother, who was curious how their Valentine's Day had passed. When he was done, he placed his phone back on the bedside table with a sigh and turned around, looking down on the Spaniard, who was lying beside him and whimpering quietly, his arms wrapped around the Italian's hips. Lovino reached out to him and gently stroked Antonio's hair, arranging the wet cloth that was threatening to slide down the other's burning forehead. The fever hadn't gone down yet. “I knew it, goddamit,” the Italian muttered between clenched teeth. “I fucking knew it…” And as he continued to comfort Antonio and eventually watched him fall asleep, he felt his own face get hot at the memory of the Spaniard's reaction to his homemade gift, the tears of joy the other had shed while holding it in his hands and his promise to treasure it forever. “It’s just chocolate. He should simply eat it and be done with it,” Lovino said quietly, yet unable to avoid smiling ever so slightly from the happiness this memory made him feel. He lifted the blanket and lay down next to the feverish and now sleeping Antonio, hugging him close. He wasn't disappointed at all that they had to cancel their entire plans for the following days due to Antonio’s reckless behavior. There would still be time for that later. For now, that bastard’s only task was to concentrate on getting better. With Lovino's help.