Welcome to the Vargas Café!

Chapter 2

(A/N: Yay! Chapter 2 of this fanfic! I wrote most of it at 2 o'clock at night, so it will probably be weird. But I hope you enjoy! ^^   Also, yes, Romano looks very scary in that picture...)

Lovino glared down at the Spanish bastard. What he said hadn't meant to be funny! Why was the guy laughing at him?!

"Hey you bastard! What's so funny?!" He growled, glaring down at him.

Antonio wiped tears of laughter out of his eyes.

"Nothing." He grinned. "You're just cute!"

"Don't say that to me, you fucker!" The Italian growled, furiously trying to hide the blush that appeared on his face.

Antonio broke out into laughter again. It was a beautiful sound, Lovino realised with annoyance.

"Fratello?" He turned around to see Feliciano standing next to him, and looking at him curiously. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah yeah, everything is fine!" Lovino grumbled, shooting another glare at the laughing Spaniard. "Good to see you brought the hot chocolate and the cheesecake. The cheesecake is for Francis, and the hot chocolate for Gilbert." 

"Oh okay." Feliciano passed Gilbert the drink, and gave the cake to Francis. Both were watching the argument between their friend and the waiter with amused interest. "Would you like anything to eat or drink, signor Fernandez?" Feliciano asked Antonio.

"Mh... what's your favourite food Lovi?" He asked with a wink.

Lovino narrowed his eyes.

"It's Lovino to you, bastard! But I would recommend Spaghetti Arrabiata." He smirked. The Spaniard didn't look like he could handle spiciness!

"I'll have that then!" Antonio nodded at Feliciano, who jotted the order down on a notepad, with an uncertain look on his face. 

Lovino had to suppress a triumphant grin. He snatched the notepad out of his brothers hands, and made his way to the kitchen. Soon after, he returned with a steamy plate of Spaghetti Arrabiata. Extra spicy! 

"Enjoy!" He said with a sweet smile, as he placed the plate in front of Antonio. He had to watch this!

Antonio blinked in surprise, then shrugged and twirled a small portion of Spaghetti on his fork. Lovino watched closely as the Spaniard raised the fork to his mouth. Watched with awe as his soft looking lips parted, and then gently closed around the metal, pulling it out of his mouth. Lovino felt like smashing his head against a wall at the weird thoughts that ran through his head.

Antonio grinned.

"Oh wow, it's quite spicy! What an unexpected surprise!" He winked at Lovino. "I like it spicy." 

Francis burst out laughing, almost choking on his cake, and Gilbert chuckled, hitting him on the back. Lovino blushed crimson. He probably looked like a damn tomato by now. His genius plan had totally backfired!

With an angry snort, he turned and hurried back to the kitchen. Who did that jerk bastard think he was? 

He slammed the door shut behind him, and met the surprised stares of Yao and Elizaveta. He glared at them and crossed the room to another door that led outside to the back of the cafe. 

Once outside, he crouched down on the floor, and rested his head on his knees. 

"Fratello?" 

Lovino didn't turn around. He knew Feliciano would have hurried after him. He always did when Lovino was upset. 

"What do you want?" He mumbled into his knees.

Feliciano shifted from the door, and sat down next to his brother.

"You're upset." It sounded more like a statement than a question. Lovino didn't answer. 

"Why are you upset Fratello? Because Antonio flirted with you? I thought you liked him."

"What?!" Now Lovino looked up to meet his brother's auburn eyes. "That damn bastard?! What makes you think I like him?!"

His brother shrugged with a confused look on his face.

"I don't know... you're always going over to that table. And every time you come back, you seem a little happier... so I just assumed you like him. Also, whenever he flirts with you, you go all red, and your eyes have a certain glow to them, as if you actually enjoy it..."

Lovino went red again. He wondered if blushing can become permanent if you do it too much.

"I- I do not enjoy it! What the hell Feli? What are you thinking?!"

Feliciano grinned. "I think you do like him!"

"Go back to serving customers, you bastardo!" Lovino grumbled. "And I do not"

His brother laughed, and went back inside.

Lovino traced patterns on the concrete with his finger, a small smile spread on his lips. Lost in thought, he sat there, and thought of Antonio.

His messy dark brown hair. His piercing emerald green eyes. The way he said Lovino's name, with that light accented voice. The radiant smile, and the pure happy laugh.

Lovino felt his smile grow, and listened to the quickening pace of his beating heart.

Maybe he did like the Spanish bastard. Just a little bit. 

Not that it mattered anyway. Antonio didn't care about him! He just used him for his amusement. The smile on his face faltered, and his heart slowed.

Did he actually think he had a chance with Antonio? That guy probably had hoards of girls around him, so why would he care about a grouchy Italian waiter that served him every Monday and peppered him with insults? And even if he did, Lovino doubted he could open his heart to anyone. He was too scared of getting hurt. 

His heart had already suffered enough. When his parents died in a car crash, about a year after their third brother Romeo was born. Romeo, who stumbled, and fell down the stairs, breaking his neck, when he was five years old. And grandpa Roma, who slipped on ice outside the house in winter, hitting his head on a rock, and died later in the hospital. Too many losses. Too many painful memories. Too many times that his heart got broken.

Feliciano couldn't remember their parents, he had been in school when Romeo and Grandpa died. But Lovino saw and remembered it all. And he had vowed to protect his heart from more heartbreak, but most importantly to protect Feliciano with his life. Because his fratello was all he had left, and he loved him more than anything in the world.

Lovino would not let his feelings for Antonio take over his thoughts. Because he had to focus on keeping Feliciano alive and happy, even at the cost of his own happiness. 

(A/N: That took a slightly dark turn... ;-;    I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next will be out soon 😊)