Chapter Text
The dogs were now back inside, and Lovino had just clicked the door shut as he joined Antonio out on the porch. They both looked at the dark street.
Antonio sighed. “I should probably go home, don't want to overstay my welcome.”
“I don't think Gilbert even knows you're here,” Lovino laughed, “but that's fine, it's late. And you helped a lot,” he paused, “Thanks.” It was quiet for a few minutes, as the two of them stood side by side, no space between them. Lovino rested his head against Antonio, savouring the contact. Truth be told, he really didn't want to sleep alone tonight. He sniffed and then cleared his throat, “I'll let you get going, but kiss me goodnight first.”
Antonio leant down, planting a kiss on Lovino's lips. He felt tears against his skin, and as he broke the kiss, he said gently, “Lovi, do you want to stay with me tonight?”
Lovino sniffed again, a quiet laugh escaping him. It was quite forced. “Was it that obvious?”
“C’mere,” he pulled him into a hug, and Lovino didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around Antonio, burying his head in his chest.
“‘Love you,” Lovino said in a quiet, muffled voice.
“I love you, too,” Antonio answered, rubbing his cheek atop the other’s head.
✤✤✤✤✤
Antonio let them into the apartment, fumbling for the light switch, finding it after running his hand along the wall for a few seconds. The place was bereft of furniture as always, so Lovino immediately went and threw himself onto the mattress, face down.
“I'm going to shower.”
Lovino simply answered with a thumbs up.
“Do you want to maybe… join me?” He asked, almost a bit nervously.
Lovino lifted his face from the bed and looked at him, a hint of surprise in his expression. “S-sure.”
“A-alright, well–” he left to start the hot water.
With steam permeating the bathroom, Lovino came in and pushed the door shut behind him, wasting no time in losing his clothes. He didn't want to make the water bill skyrocket.
Antonio turned around from hanging fresh towels, and was met with the sight of Lovino completely in the nude. He blushed, even though he should have expected it.
Lovino caught on and let out a light hearted snicker. “Like what you see?” He teased, then disappeared into the shower. After he didn't get an answer, he called. “No need to be embarrassed! I've had more time to get used to this kind of thing, you know. Thanks to Feli’s art books.”
Antonio laughed nervously. “I know it's just…” he unbuckled his belt and placed it neatly on the counter. “Well, you know, last time it was basically dark…”
Lovino poked his head out from behind the curtain, his hair dripping. “Would it make you feel better if the lights were off?”
“No, actually… I like being able to see you.”
Lovino smiled, then pulled the curtain shut again. “Where the hell is the shampoo?”
Antonio grabbed it from under the sink, reaching into the shower to hand it over, simultaneously kicking his pants off. “Sorry, new bottle.”
Lovino took it. “Thanks.” After presumably reading the label he said, “you use this cheap stuff, but somehow your hair looks like you fucking go to the salon. What's up with that?”
“Genetics, I guess.” He stepped into the shower. Lovino was dutifully scrubbing his scalp and running the shampoo through his hair. It was irresistibly sudsy. Before it could be rinsed, Antonio stuck his hands in the mass of suds and slicked the hair up into a point, laughing.
“What did you just do?” In the blink of an eye, his hair was flat again, the steady flow of warm water washing the soap from his hair and down his arms and back.
“Nothing, nothing.”
Lovino opened one eye, catching a peek at Antonio. “You know, you can tell me to move instead of just standing there.”
“I don't mind.”
He sighed. “Come ‘ere.” He pulled Antonio close to him, so they were both under the water. He wrapped his arms around the other's waist and rested his head against his back. “Is this fine?”
Antonio hummed.
“If I were filthy rich, I wouldn't mind staying like this for a few hours.” After a minute he let go. “Here, let me wash your hair.”
“Oh, if you want to.”
“‘Course I do.” He looked at his hair. It was much longer when it wasn't bunched up with curls. He put some shampoo in his hands and rubbed them together, before working the soap through Antonio's hair.
“Wow, you're a professional,” Antonio smiled, feeling Lovino massage his scalp.
He pursed his lips. “I suppose so. You know, shampoo is one of the few things I splurge on. The cheap stuff ruins my hair. Or maybe I'm just spoiled.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“It's fine. You didn't know. Plus I didn't want to bring all my stuff over.”
“So, that expensive stuff is why you always smell so good.”
“Is that why you're always putting your face in my hair?”
“Yes, and it's silky soft too.”
Lovino let out a laugh. “You're so fucking cute.”
Antonio grinned, his shoulders hitching with laughter. He couldn't help laughing along.
After showering, and getting ready for bed, they got under the blankets of Antonio's bed. The two of them sat up for a while, talking about nothing in particular, which suddenly shifted to the topic of apartments.
“There's this nice place, like… sort of by the plaza, but not too close to it. Lots of windows.”
“Whaaat?” Antonio whined playfully, “you don't want to move in here?”
It took a moment too long to realise he was joking, because Lovino had already replied. “Not really.” They both looked at each other in the dim, then burst out laughing. “Sorry, but I'd really rather not live here, if you don't mind.”
“To be fair, me neither. It was the cheapest place at the time. Plus, I'm like ninety-nine percent sure it's haunted.”
“No way, you're shitting me.”
“Nope, it's totally true. Sometimes the bathroom sink just turns on by itself.”
Lovino sat in silence, coming to terms with the knowledge that Antonio had so considerately bestowed upon him, when they were about to go to sleep. “You're… You're serious?”
“C’mon, Lovi, I wouldn't lie about something like that. Ghosts are a serious matter. You don't want to disrespect spirits, you know,” he said solemnly. “It was a bit of a hot topic at the seminary.”
Lovino whispered to himself, “What the fuck…” suddenly scooting closer to his boyfriend. Was he going to get attacked in his sleep or something?
“Aww, you don't have to be scared though, he's a friendly spirit,” Antonio assured him lightheartedly, kissing him on the temple. “I actually did a bit of digging, and it turns out the original owner of the building lived in this room way back when. Like the late 1800s or thereabouts.”
“Wow,” Lovino said hollowly, suddenly afraid to close his eyes. He might see something when he opened them again.
“Yeah, and apparently he had some huge relic smuggling ring too.”
“Wait, what?”
“Well, back in medieval times churches were stealing each other's sacred relics, and I guess this guy was pretty crazy about that idea and ended up sort of reviving it.”
Lovino let out an incredulous laugh. This story was so crazy there was no way it was real, but he humoured Antonio for the time being.
“In the end, some guys from the Vatican showed up, the whole thing turned into a standoff, and the guy ended up killing himself because he thought the guys who showed up were the mafia just pretending to be from the Vatican.”
Lovino let the story sink in, still doubting its validity. It was batshit crazy, could something like that really happen?
“Actually, for some reason, they never covered the bullet hole up.” He pointed up at the ceiling across the room. “It's somewhere over there. I can show you tomorrow.”
“Okay, so… where did you hear this from?” He ignored the fact that there was an actual bullet hole in the ceiling for the time being.
“Well, I was bored one time and started talking to the landlady when she mentioned it. I totally thought she was pulling my leg, but I ended up looking the guy up in the historical archives at the library and it's all true!” He seemed unimaginably impressed. “To think something so crazy happened in a town like this. I assumed it had a boring history, but I was completely wrong.”
Lovino settled down into the covers. “I bet Feli would find this interesting…” he tried not to think about the fact that there might just be a ghost watching him sleep. Ghosts probably weren't real, anyway. It was all just stories. Besides, who'd want to hang around after they died? Seems like there'd be fuck all to do. “I'm still skeptical about there being a ghost haunting this place though. Seems too convenient of an explanation.”
“Well, maybe he'll turn the faucet on tonight, just for you,” Antonio yawned, pulling Lovino toward him and snuggling into him.
“I hope the fuck not!” He pulled Antonio's arms tighter around him for protection. He was exhausted, but at the same time he was scared to close his eyes. He found it cute that Antonio was enthralled with the history of this place, but on the other hand… now he felt totally on edge. He wasn't sure if he would even be able to sleep at all. He wondered how the hell Antonio was so nonchalant about the fact that they probably weren't alone. “Why'd you tell me about this now, of all times?”
Antonio's breath tickled his ear. “Oh, the bathroom door swung open by itself a few minutes ago. Did you not see it?”
“No, I didn't fucking see it!” Lovino hissed. “What the hell?”
“It's alright, nothing’s gonna happen to you, I promise.” He buried his head into Lovino's hair. “You're right, the shampoo really does make a difference.”
“Why haven't you called an exorcist or something?”
“Like I said before, he's not a bad spirit. If it were a demon or something, then of course I'd be worried.”
“Fuck,” Lovino whispered exasperatedly, squeezing his eyes shut.
“You can wake me up if you need something. I can't keep my eyes open any longer…” he sighed, keeping Lovino close to him.
“Yeah, okay, good night,” Lovino said, his eyelids feeling heavy. He tried not to pay attention to anything but the sound of Antonio's breathing, which somehow began to lull him to sleep despite the possibility of a ghostly presence. “But if anything happens, I’m not staying over anymore.”
“Hehe, alright. Good night, mi corazón .”