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It was just a date. A silly date that Lovino wasn’t at all prepared for, even though he had been asked on it a whole week ago now. And in that tie, he knew where he was going, what he was wearing, how he would be getting there, but there was one small problem. He had never met the man in person. That was the truth as they had met online with the common interest of being a foreign man in a strange place. Lovino had been moved over with his younger brother as a teenager thanks to their rich grandfather who wanted them to go to a nice university, but during that, Lovino decided he liked the country, the weather, the people who had the same bad attitude most of the time, and went through the long process to get citizenship before he ended his college career. His brother ended up moving back to Italy, while Lovino bought an apartment with the money he had saved up from his college job. Now, he was working as a chef in a rather large restaurant that gets plenty of service, and is making just enough for him to be comfortable. Not in a big fancy house, but in his apartment with his cat, and can feed himself when he wants to eat.
The young Italian man sighed, looking at the other’s profile. Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo, twenty-nine. He had messy brown hair, tan skin as if the sun itself had kissed it all over, bit by bit, some freckles dancing his face and his arms and shoulders. And his eyes were such a lovely shade, an olive green that just melted the soul. But Lovino wouldn’t let him know that he thought Antonio was that pretty. He would pretend that he didn’t care, and that he was just doing it so that he didn’t have to eat at home and had a reason to leave the house.
So when he had to leave his house, Lovino made sure he had everything in his satchel, took a deep breath, and caught a taxi to the place they were meeting up. A place called Milk Train, Lovino had gone there once or twice to treat himself after a long day, and would skip it because it was so busy there, he just hoped that it wasn’t today, since it was a weekday and most people would be at school or work.
Lovino didn’t exactly know what he was doing. He knew where he was going, what he might get whilst there, but he didn’t know the other man who would be there, and Lovino hadn’t glossed up on his Spanish in quite some time. So when Lovino arrived and saw it wasn’t at all busy, and that there were spots to sit inside, he felt a pit in his stomach. But instead of going in and awkwardly ordering alone, he waited outside for Antonio to arrive. And when he did, it was obvious because he looked like a red button on a black shirt. He was so out of place, but so perfect that way, even here.
The Spanish man was very smiley as he walked up to Lovino, saying hello to him with a thick Spanish accent. “I am Antonio, we met on the phone!” He said, in an almost too happy tone of voice for someone first meeting an internet stranger.
Lovino just kept a straight face and nodded. “Yeah, I’m Lovino. Let’s get inside and order, in case it gets busy we’ll want a seat.” He said and led Antonio inside. They walked up to the counter, greeted by a worker asking them what they wanted today. Antonio employed the help of Lovino for a few things, asking what they meant because he hadn’t heard the word before. And eventually they had both managed to order a milkshake and sat down at a table near the counter.
But words weren’t coming to them. Antonio sat there smiling, while Lovino looked as though he didn’t even want to be there. It wasn’t true, he did want to be there, he just didn’t know how exactly to interact with someone so cheerful. It almost reminded him of his brother, which caused his nose to scrunch up, and Antonio tilted his head, his smile disappearing and being replaced with a confused yet focused gaze.
“Sorry, you remind me of my brother a bit..” Lovino muttered.
“Oh, alright. Do you, have a job?” Antonio asked.
“Yeah, I probably already told you about it, but I work at a restaurant. I went to culinary school while I applied to get citizenship.”
“Oh! That’s nice! I just moved here from Spain!”
“Yeah, I could tell, you stick out like a sore thumb in a place like England. What made you choose here of all places?”
“Hmm.. Change of scenery? New things?”
“Huh. Interesting.”
“You’re Italian? Why here?”
“My nonno forced it onto me, needed somewhere other than my spoiled brother to put his money. Sent me to college. So I got a job, got the green card, and stayed. The people here are more my style. Food is bad.”
Antonio laughed a bit, and it sent Lovino’s heart soaring. Why did he have to be so damn perfect? Why couldn’t something just be wrong with him yet? Did he ever get mad, or stop being so excited for the next few seconds? Lovino complained a lot, probably wouldn’t be soon until he did during this date, but he was sort of living in this bubble right now, this moment of clarity, watching this guy, hearing his voice. He wanted this to freeze, to live in this moment forever. Impossible. When they got their milkshakes, Antonio was happy with it, saying it was very good and that he was glad to have come here. Lovino hoped he hadn’t traveled too far to get here though, he would feel bad if he did, and probably pay for him to get a taxi home. He wondered if Antonio had a home yet, or if he was placed at a hotel for the time being. So many questions, so little time.
“So, where do you live?” Lovino finally asked the question that had been laying on his tongue.
“Oh, uh, nowhere. I’m staying at a nice place until I can find somewhere affordable and my funds have come through. Then I’ll get a home.” He explained, watching for Lovino’s reaction.
“Ok, sounds boring. Do you have a job yet?”
“No, I have not gotten one.”
“What’s the extent of your training in fields?”
“Well, I have a degree in history, and I’m good at guitar.”
“Play on the street, people will.. Throw a few pence in your case, greedy bastards. Eventually you’ll get a few pounds playing for a few days”
Antonio nodded, taking that into mind as he sipped his milkshake, watching Lovino.
“You’re very attractive.” Antonio said, not seeming to care about the reaction he got.
“What? No, I’m the ugly brother, the other two look much better than I do. I got the worst of the traits combined.”
“Really? I can’t tell.”
“Seriously? How can you not..”
“Well, You know what I see? Your eyes are kind of green where they’re brown, you can see that when they catch the light. I think it’s pretty. You have a good clean complexion, not many have that. You have a nice skin tone, right in between tan and recluse, which is where I like it. And I think the fact that your tooth beside your front one on the top right row is a bit slanted is cute.”
“A bit? I fucked it up as a kid, it’s pretty unappealing.”
“Nope. I like Lovino. Even if he’s a bit broken.”
“You hardly know me.”
“That’s what a date is for.”
“And?”
“And what?”
Lovino rolled his eyes and paid more attention to his drink than Antonio now, blushing like an idiot and keeping his eyes averted. Antonio, on the other hand, had a smug grin on his face as he watched the man across from him.
When they finished their drinks, Lovino stated he had to get home, since he had stayed out longer than he thought he would, and Antonio said that was fine. As they parted, Antonio chuckled.
“What I would have said back there, was, “and more in the future.” He said, writing something on a piece of paper and handing it to Lovino before shoving the pen in his pocket and walking away. “Adios.” Was all he said before he was gone. Lovino looked down at the paper, seeing a phone number messily scrawled on it.
“Jerk..” He whispered, clutching the piece of paper to his chest as he walked to the bus stop, a bashful smile on his face.