One rose petal falls to the ground.

"Lovi…"

"Shut up."

"But, Lovi-"

"I said shut up!"

Soon two more follow in its wake. Lovino scowls at the flower, slowly being stripped of its beauty. What a stupid, stupid tradition.

Silence from the other side of the door, "But-"

"SHUT UP!"

Lovino leans his head against the wood. Another petal crumples and dies in his hand. Only six left. He knows what the outcome will be. But… Still!

"Lovino…" He can feel Antonio sit down himself, can hear the fabric of his shirt rub up exactly parallel to where his back is, "I love you."

This time Lovino remains silent. Picks off a petal, rips it in half.

"Really, when you think about it all I did was give you roses. That's no reason to lock yourself up."

"That's not all you did, bastard!"

"Well…" he can almost hear Antonio smirking, "I did kiss you."

Four left. Dammit.

His face goes red when he remembers what had happened. Antonio just showed up at his front door, said, 'I love you', shoved some roses into his hand and kissed him! Right there in the open and everything! In a rush he rips off three of the remaining petals.

"I love you~" Antonio calls in a singsong voice, "I love you~"

Lovino stares at the last petal. If he could just stop there things wouldn't have to get… complicated. He could scream and yell like usual and the stupid Spanish bastard would never bother him again.

But maybe things wouldn't get complicated.

Tossing what remained of the rose to the floor, he stands and yanks the door open. Antonio falls onto his back and smiles up at him, "Hi ya, Lovi!"

Blushing furiously, Lovino grabs Antonio's shirt, pulls him upright, and kisses him back before he can change his mind. Before he destroys anymore of those idiotic flowers Antonio gave him.

They break apart, both breathing hard. Antonio smiles again. Lovino scowls again.

"Don't think this means anything, asshole. Just because I kissed you doesn't mean-!"

Quickly Antonio snatches up his lips again. Its like a fresh burst of cherry tomato in his mouth and he finds himself going deeper, asking for more. Antonio places his hands on his back as he replies, sending shivers racing through his skin. He relaxes his grip on Antonio's shirt, if only just a little, and pulls away.

I love him. I love him not. I love him. I love him not.

Antonio sweeps him into a hug, "Lovino, I'm so happy! This is great, isn't it? Don't you think?"

"You really need to stop talking."

I love him. I love him not.

He looks over at Antonio's roses. This is all their fault. Stupid flowers. Stupid odd number of petals.

The singsong voice comes back, "Lovi, I love you."

"… Maybe I don't think you're the most horrible person to share oxygen with. Maybe."

I love him.