A/N: Hello again. It's not like I'm trying to be productive, it's just my internet connection has been slower than a pregnant snail so I have to do something. And this fanfic is made. Sorry, it's RussMano again. I just love them too much I can't help it. *cries in the corner* Oh, and I know Belarus human name is Natalia, but in family, she is called by Natasha.

Anyway, please read and enjoy. ^^ The full title is:

To Capture a Man's Heart,

You Have to Take Hold of His Stomach First.

When I was child, I was told by my grandfather:

"Lovino, do you know why you are required to be able to make a good food?"

My grandfather was a professional cook and had a small restaurant of his own. My dream was to be a cook like him, and run the restaurant once he had stepped down. I stopped chopping ingredients to make soup and looked at him.

"Because it's the only way to make customer satisfied?"

My grandfather smiled and patted my head. He leaned down so our eyes are on the same level, and what he said had never left my mind.

"Because a good food can reach and touch a person's soul."

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"Thank you for your visit and please come again."

Lovino exhaled deeply as the last customer had left the restaurant. He looked behind and saw his brother was cleaning the table. He turned his heel and reached for a mop before closing the door.

"You should be coming back home since earlier," Lovino said to his brother, turning the open sign into close and locked the door. "You have school tomorrow and I don't like it if you push yourself too much."

"It's alright, vee~" Feliciano replied cheerfully, moving to another table that still needed to be cleaned. "I've finished my homework so I can sleep earlier than usual. I can't leave you to do cleaning up on your own after you're working so hard all day."

Lovino stared at his brother for some minutes before he sighed and continued to mop the floor. His brother could be very stubborn and he didn't feel like arguing right now. Feliciano was right, he had been working hard all day and he wanted nothing but to snuggle up on his bed and sleep. But there was still some task left to do, so he couldn't really take a rest yet.

"There were some leftovers we can take home for dinner and breakfast tomorrow," Lovino said as he put his mop back to the cupboard. His brother had finished cleaning the table as well, so they could go home in few more minutes. "You get that while I'm taking out the trash."

"Okay, vee~"

Lovino shook his head at his brother perkiness even though he was tired. He knew even without Feliciano telling him. His brother was in his last year of high school, and a part-timer at a pet-shop few blocks away. When his shift was done, he'd still come by at the restaurant to help him cleaning up. No matter how many times Lovino told him to go straight home after work, he just wouldn't listen. And eventually Lovino had given up.

He was never resistant to persistence.

With two hands holding a trash bag, Lovino opened the back door using his shoulder. Just when he was about to put those bag in the bin, he saw something was lying across the alley few yards from him.

Looks like a human, Lovino thought as he was slowly approaching the 'thing'. And he was right. As soon as he was close enough, he saw that it was a man lying on his stomach, his face down. He couldn't tell if the man was unconscious or not, so he took a step closer to peer on his face.

Suddenly the man made a faint sound, startling Lovino and he quickly stepped back. He had to be careful, who knew if the man was actually dangerous and robbed him as soon as he got the chance. He heard the man groaned and Lovino had to lean a bit close so he could make out what the man said.

"F—food…" the man breathed out and squint his eyes to look at Lovino. His face was pale, platinum strands of hair fell to the concrete. He was tall and big, but his expression looked so pitiful he was like a fragile person to begin with. His light purple eyes found Lovino and he tried to speak once more. "N—need food…"

Lovino thought about the leftovers at the restaurant and decided he didn't need it that much. After all he could always make some new dish at home since there were a lot of supplies stored in his fridge. This man looked like he hadn't eaten for quite a while, and Lovino wasn't that heartless to let the man starved when he had free food to offer.

"Can you move?" Lovino asked, gradually felt there was no danger coming from the poor man. He kneeled down and helped the man to get up from his current position. "I have food in the restaurant but we have to go there to get it."

Upon hearing that there was food for him, the man could force out some energy to get on his feet. He followed Lovino to the back of his restaurant, stomach growling as smell of food reached his nose. Lovino opened the back door and saw his brother was packing the food into some plastic boxes. Feliciano smiled when he saw his brother.

"You took quite some time, Fratello," he said while putting the box lid. "I've finished packing the leftovers."

"I think we don't have to bring back the food," Lovino replied as he turned over and spoke to the starving man. "Come in. Sit down and I'll give you your food."

Ivan Braginsky almost couldn't believe his ears; he was finally getting something to eat. There was nothing entering his stomach other than cold water for almost two days. He ran away from his mother's house, with no money and no phone to contact his friends. He tried to look for his sister apartment downtown, but he got lost quickly. He was wandering down the street for quite some time, feeling the energy had been drained from his body before he collapsed on some alley, stomach growling badly. He was about to pass out when he heard footsteps coming in his direction.

It was a young man, average height and build, with brown hair and a pair of honey colored eyes. He tried to muster some energy, to ask for his help. Despite his grumpy voice, the guy was actually kind enough to give him some food he had. With some difficulties, Ivan finally managed to stand up and follow the man to his restaurant.

The restaurant was small, but nice and warm with homey decorations and furnitures. Simple but comfortable. He saw the man was talking to another young guy and he told Ivan to come in and sit while he was preparing the food.

He was so happy he could kiss the man.

"Here," the man put a plate of pasta, a bowl of steaming soup and few sliced bread. Ivan looked at the man with teary eyes, croaking the words "Thank you," before attacked his meal.

Lovino waited for the man reaction as he started to eat. He felt his stomach churned in anticipation, always been like that whenever someone new was eating his cooking. He saw the man paused, his right hand that was holding a fork was trembling a little. Slowly the man raised his head up and Lovino's stomach did a little flip-flop.

"It's…"

Lovino held his breath.

"It's so goooooooooooooooood~"

Lovino sighed in relief as the man was looking at him with teary eyes and adoring expression. It was as if he never tasted something as good before, and for some reason it gave him a warm feeling inside. He looked at the man with a not-quite-smile playing on his lips, while the later was chewing happily on his food.

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed that Feliciano was trying to hide his yawn. Lovino turned over to face his brother and said,

"Go home," he ordered with his best parental voice, leaving no room for arguments. "No more to do here, I'll come after you later. Don't forget to lock the door, okay? I bring my own key."

"Okay, then," Feliciano replied, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. "G'nite, Fratello."

"Good night."

He followed Feliciano with his eyes until his back was disappeared from the back door before turning his attention back to the man. He was startled when he saw the man was almost done with his meal.

Somebody was really hungry here.

"Thank you so much for the food!" Ivan said gratefully, clasping his two hands together. "If it weren't for your help, I'd be starved to death by now. There're no more words to say, to show you how grateful I am. Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Lovino said, slightly flattered at how the man was thanking him. All he did was only giving him some leftovers, but the simple gesture had meant more than what it was intended originally.

"And it also tasted really good, too," Ivan sighed dreamily. "It was nothing like I've ever had before. You must be a very gifted cook."

"Yeah, thanks," Lovino replied softly, really flattered now that the man had complimented his cooking. "I had studied hard back then, glad that all of my lessons had finally been paid off."

Ivan smiled fondly before he looked around at his surroundings. "Is this your own restaurant?"

Lovino nodded while he was collecting the dishes. He stood up to put it in the sink and turn on the faucet. "Yes. It was my grandfather's, but two years ago he had passed away so it became mine."

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. I'm used to losing somebody in my life."

Ivan was a bit stunned at the casual way those bitter words were said, but decided not to pry into someone else private life. Especially if he just met that someone and he had been so kind to help him. He settled for a safe conversation instead.

"My name is Ivan, and I'm looking for High Pentagon Apartment Complex. Could you possibly know where it is?"

Lovino turned the water off and started to dry the dishes. "It's five blocks away from here. You go to the street in front of this restaurant and go straight to south. On the first traffic light, take turn to left and go straight ahead. It's right beside a hypermarket. Do you live there?"

"Nope, it's my older sister's residence. I have to crash there for a while," Ivan said with a small smile before he stood up. "Thank you again for your help, I think it's time for me to go. I hope you don't mind if I come around at some time later."

"No, come whenever you want," Lovino said as he walked with Ivan to the back door. "The restaurant is opened from eleven to ten."

"Okay, see you again," Ivan said and started to walk away. His steps got into an abrupt stop as he remembered something and turned around. "I haven't learned your name. May I know how to call you?"

The not-quite-smile was back before the brunet answered.

"Lovino," he said. "You can call me Lovino."

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Axis Powers - Hetalia © Hidekazu Himaruya

This fanfic is made for entertainment purpose only, so we take no profit out of it. The story contains a homosexual relationship, some bad languages, and a little bashing for some characters. Please do not read if any of it is against your preferences.

All complaints are due yesterday.

Please enjoy.

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After that night, it had become a common occurrence to find Ivan lurking around the restaurant at night after it was closed. Fortunately there were always been some leftovers around, so Ivan could eat Lovino's delicious cooking. Lovino had once asked him why he didn't just buy his decent food when the restaurant was opened, and the answer was quite surprising.

"No money," Ivan replied in the middle of chewing his food. Lovino gave him an unbelieving look.

"You look like you're coming from a rich family," Lovino said, noticing the all branded clothes and shoes, also the expensive perfume he always smelled whenever Ivan was standing a little bit too close.

"I ran away from home the night before I collapsed there," he jerked his thumb to the direction of the back alley. "I forgot to bring my money, or even my phone, and my sister's income isn't that much too. So I must learn not to spend my money for something that's not really necessary."

"Food is necessary."

"Yeah, but I still can get the free one," Ivan grinned and Lovino just rolled his eyes.

"You have friends, right?" Lovino said, taking the now-empty plate into the sink. "You can always ask them for a treat sometimes."

"Nah, it's going to be really bothersome," Ivan said as he propped his chin up the table. "Beside, I know exactly what will happen. Alfred will buy me burgers twenty four seven, and that food sucks. Arthur can't cook but he'll insist to make me some, and I'm going to be left with a stomachache. His cooking is simply atrocious like you wouldn't believe it."

Lovino snickered as he put the dried plate back at the kitchen drawer, and Ivan continued his list of options.

"And then there's Yao. He can cook, but he puts too much garlic in every food he makes. And some of it tastes a bit bland. Francis is the only one who can make delicious foods—not as delicious as you make—but I don't trust myself to be around him alone." Ivan shook his head slightly before pointing his finger to Lovino. "That leaves only you."

"Alright," Lovino took a seat in front of Ivan at the table he was using, before turning his head to his brother. "Feliciano, you can stop coming here after work now. I have new helper for cleaning up the restaurant."

"Really?" Feliciano asked brightly. "Who is that, vee?"

Lovino nodded at the Russian.

"Him."

Ivan laughed. "Oh, so there's nothing free in this world," he said as Feliciano giggled and Lovino smirked.

"Damn right."

"I can take that. After all that's the only thing I can do after getting your amazing food for free. And Feliciano is still in school, so he needs more rest."

"Aren't you in university too?" Feliciano asked, his head tilted aside in curiosity.

"Yeah, I'm a sophomore at Law Major," Ivan shrugged. "Not my best interest, so I'm not going to work too hard for it. Anyway, I should go home now. Thank you again for your kindness to give me delicious foods for free."

"Anytime," Lovino stood up and walked to the counter to take a plastic box. He gave it to Ivan and said, "This is for your sister."

The taller guy looked at the box, to Lovino, and back to the box again before he made such expression that looked like he wanted to smolder Lovino with kisses. His eyes shimmering with happiness, as if Lovino had given him a box full of gold.

"Thank you," he said tearfully as he took the box. "I'll come earlier tomorrow to help you with the customer. I promise. Good night."

"Good night!" Lovino called out to the retreating back of his new friend. He shook his head before turning towards his brother, and his step halted. Feliciano had an expression of pure admiration like when he tasted his first pasta.

"He's very adorable, isn't he, Fratello?"

Lovino just snorted.

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Just like what he had promised, Ivan came to the restaurant two hours before it closed. He helped serving the customer, taking the orders to their table. Granted, his restaurant never had too much customer to begin with, so he was alright with running the restaurant all by himself. But it was pretty tiring, so he was quite grateful there was someone to help him.

"Thank you for your visit and please come again."

It was already four weeks and Ivan had been used to his new job. He smiled and waved at the old couple as their last customer. He was about to close the door when he saw a blonde was walking quickly towards the restaurant.

"Sorry, we're close—"

"Lovino!" The lady had ignored Ivan and breezed through the door to approach Lovino. He could saw the guy flinched slightly upon seeing their guest and coughed a little. He straightened himself up and schooled his face into neutral expression before he greeted.

"Hello, Bella. You come pretty late. We're going to close."

"I need your help," the woman, Bella, said in an urgent voice. "Antonio is sick and he didn't want to eat at all. He has to eat or he's going to be weaker and weaker. I don't want anything to happen to him."

Lovino went stiff at the mention of the name. Bella saw the expression and she bit her lips, but stood on her ground. Lovino didn't answer for a while and Ivan wondered what that Antonio guy might have to do with those two. His train of thought was broken when he heard Lovino spoke.

"I have nothing to do with him anymore," he said rather coldly. "Shouldn't you be capable of making a delicious food for him? I remembered that Antonio had called you… incredible cook. Am I wrong?"

"Lovino—that was a mistake and I—now I…" Bella looked almost she was going to cry. "Lovino, please. I need your help."

"I'm not going to help you again, Bella. Never," Lovino said with chilly stare from his usually warm sand colored eyes. "Last time I helped you, I didn't get a 'thank you', but a stab wound on my back."

"I didn't do it on purpose—"

"Like hell you didn't," Lovino snapped and looked at Bella with such hateful glare the girl had to take some steps back. "Now get out from my restaurant or I'll make my bodyguard there drag you."

Bella glanced around and saw Ivan was standing near the door. She could tell that he was not actually a bodyguard, given the apron he was wearing. But bodyguard or not, the man was big and could easily throw her out if he wanted to. She tried to look at Lovino, but the guy was turning his back on her. She stood there for a while before she finally gave up and left the place.

"Lock the door," Lovino said after he made sure that Bella was coming back. Ivan did as what he was ordered to, turning the sign into close and locked the twin glass door. He walked to the back of the restaurant and sat in front of Lovino who was currently laying his head down on the table.

"So now I'm your bodyguard." Lovino's head shot up and he gave Ivan a half-hearted glare.

"Shut up," he grumbled before he folded his hands on top of the table and rested his chin on it. "I said that just to scare Bella and got her out."

"Who's she?" Ivan asked, curiosity got the best of him. "Your ex?"

"She was once my best friend," Lovino said in a faraway tone, as if he was not quite there. "We did a lot of things together, and we always helped each other out. One day she was asking for my help, she said that she needed me to teach her how to cook. As a best friend, of course I did whatever I could, taught her everything I knew. I just didn't know that she'd use that knowledge to take something from me."

"And what's that thing?"

"A person I'm in love with."

There was silence following Lovino's statement before Ivan spoke again.

"How did that happen?"

"I had always been close with Antonio since he was my childhood friend. My parents had died when I was five, and Antonio took great care of me like my own brother. But I knew that my affection was more than a sibling to him. He was quite fond of me, so I thought that it was going to be fine even if I let him knew about my feelings."

"But Bella had taken him from me," Lovino sighed demurely. He sat up straight and looked at Ivan with a little bit dazed expression. "My grandfather always said that to capture a man's heart, the easiest way is to take hold of their stomach first. It's because a good food can reach and touch a person's soul. At first I thought it was ridiculous, until I saw what Bella did."

Ivan tried to connect Lovino's story to the conversation he had with Bella earlier, and he startled.

"She tricked you?"

"Yeah," Lovino nodded and laid his head sideways on the table, his eyes looking at the wall across the room. "She wanted to show Antonio that she could cook, so she asked for my help. Antonio never knew I was the one who taught her, so he thought that Bella was an amazing cook. He fell for her and asked her out. I only knew after I caught them kissing in front of this restaurant. It was two years ago, and three weeks after my grandfather died. That's why I said that I was used to losing somebody in my life."

Ivan was a bit stunned at the end of Lovino's story, feeling that this young man had been through a hard life. Compared to what had happened in his own family, Ivan felt a little bit ashamed of himself. Here was a guy who had lost his parents, grandfather and a guy he loved, but he dealt with his problem like a man should. Not running away from it.

Suddenly he felt an urge to grab Lovino and hugged him. They had been friends for about two months now, but he thought that he would make Lovino felt uncomfortable if he did something too far at invading his personal space. So he reached his hand out, and patted Lovino's head.

"There's still going to be another one around," he smiled consolingly. "Don't worry. Eventually you will find someone better than him."

"Yeah," Lovino said softly, closing his eyes to enjoy the warm feeling he got from Ivan's comforting touch. After a while he opened his eyes, and slapped the hand on his head lightly. "Get off. I'm not a child."

Lovino scowled as he sat back, even though Ivan could see that his eyes weren't reflecting a storm cloud anymore. It made Ivan felt a huge weight had been lifted from his heart. There was a throbbing sensation whenever he saw Lovino looked sad. He wanted to see the man happy, just like how Lovino had made him happy with his food.

"Your grandfather must be an incredible cook," he said as he looked at Lovino with a gentle smile on his lips. "And his saying is also true. You've proven it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've managed to capture my heart."

Lovino could feel blush was creeping on his face when he saw Ivan looking at him with such tender smile, and eyes full of admiration. He threw a napkin to him just so he didn't see the handsome face staring at him with an adorable expression, or so Feliciano had said. He would never think any grown man as adorable, no matter what kind of expression he was making.

"Shut up," he grumbled as he stood up and walked back to the counter. He grabbed his bag before speaking to his companion. "Get your things in three minutes before I lock you up in this restaurant until tomorrow."

Ivan grinned as he jumped from his chair and ran to take off his apron and took his belongings, shouting an "Aye, Chef!" on his way. Lovino could only shake his head at seeing such a big guy doing a childish act.

He would never understand that man.

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"Wanna watch a movie?"

Lovino stopped collecting the trash as he stood up straight to look at the man that was questioning him. He saw Ivan was wearing a big smile that could rival a model of tooth paste advertisement.

"I thought you said that you had no money," he said in an accusing tone.

Ivan rubbed the back of his neck rather awkwardly.

"I've been back to my mother's house uptown," his grin wavered slightly. "I should talk to her and solve our problems, not running away like that. Now it's all settled, so I have my allowance and everything back."

"But why are you still helping me here, then?" Lovino asked, felt a little bit confused. "You've had enough food now, right?"

"Yeah," Ivan's grin turned into the same gentle smile like that night. "But I don't have enough seeing you."

There was a trash bag flying to the direction of his head. He caught that easily, and fortunately the bag was already tied close. Otherwise, they would have the room full of trash.

"Stop saying bullshits like that!"

"Chill out, Lovino," Ivan laughed as he put the trash bag down near the corner. "So? Tomorrow night?"

"I have a restaurant to run until ten."

"You can close it for a day," Ivan said, almost whined. "Come on. I'll even pay you back for the money you lose in a day if you agree to hang out with me. Beside, you'd need rest eventually. So why don't take it now?"

Lovino crossed his arms, thinking about the possibilities. He wasn't really worried about the money loss, it was just a day after all. And the hulking Russian guy was right about his need for rest too. Lovino clucked his tongue before he took the trash bag and shouting as he walked out.

"We meet here at seven. Don't be late!"

Ivan had arrived at half past six, and five minutes later Lovino made his appearance. He was a little bit startled upon seeing Ivan was coming earlier than him, and he couldn't help but asked.

"What the hell are you doing here so early?"

"Speak for yourself, Lovino."

"Bastard."

"I just don't want to be late," Ivan replied cheerfully. "Who knows what you might be doing to me. I see you can be pretty scary if you want to."

"Whatever," Lovino rolled his eyes. He put his hands inside the pocket of black jacket he was wearing, and looked at his companion. "What film are we going to watch? I'd warn you, if we're going to watch Finding Nemo, you will wish—"

"Don't worry. My taste is nowhere near to that."

Twenty minutes later, Lovino was out of the movie theatre and currently throwing Ivan with his supply of popcorn.

"What the hell is wrong with you? How could you expect me to watch a damn Hello Kitty movie? Are you out of your mind? Stupid bastard, you just wasted my precious time of holiday!"

"But Hello Kitty is cute and I thought you like cute things!"

"What the f—"

His curse was stopped midway as Ivan's hand suddenly clamped on his mouth, and his body was pulled into the man's embrace. They stood behind one of the marble pillar and he could feel Ivan was sneaking glances behind them. His heart was suddenly taking an upbeat, thumping madly in his chest he almost could hear it. The smell of Ivan's expensive perfume was caught by his nose, making him felt dizzy. His thought was finally snapped back when he heard Ivan's faint murmur close to his ear.

Lovino chose to step on his captor foot.

"Ouch!" Ivan hissed and released his hold on Lovino's body. "What was that for?"

"What did you think you were doing? Holding me like that, you looked like you were hiding from someone," Lovino accused as he fold his arms in front of his chest. Now that Ivan had released him, he felt a bit cold where the man's heat had left him.

He saw Ivan was glancing behind him once more before grinned sheepishly at him. "You're right. I was hiding from my sister," ha said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Why? You were in her place weeks ago."

"No, that was my older sister. This is my younger one."

"So? What are you hiding for if she's your family?"

"Uh…" Ivan looked a bit embarrassed as he glanced around, as if trying to look for an answer. He finally sighed and looked at Lovino with resigned expression. "It's because if she sees me, she'll pursue me to marry her. Again."

Lovino's jaw dropped in an utter horror. "I—incest!" he screeched.

Ivan let out a bark of laugh before he shook his head. "It's not like that." He leaned his back on the pillar and looked at Lovino with sad smile ghosting over his lips. "My parents were divorced. Yekaterina was married already, so she wasn't in the family anymore. I went with my mother and Natasha wanted to be with me, but mother didn't want her, so she had to stick with my father instead. That's why she thought…"

Ivan paused, voice wavered slightly before he continued.

"She thought if we're married, our family would become one again."

Lovino stared at the man in front of him, sympathy rushed over his feeling. "That's sad," he said softly. "But still, you shouldn't be avoiding her like that. You should talk with her."

Suddenly he saw Ivan shivered. "Y—you don't know Natasha." Even his hands were trembling. "She's really frightening if she has been determined to do something. She'll do anything."

Lovino was a bit startled to see that the fear looked so genuine. For someone like Ivan who seemed he had nothing to be scared of, that was definitely saying something. Lovino decided he didn't want to test whether his saying about this Natasha girl was true or not.

He wasn't stupid.

"Let's go to my house, then," he huffed before uncrossing his arms. "I have much better collection of films than this theatre. If I want to watch a movie, I'm going to watch a movie, damn it!"

The troubled expression was gone from Ivan's face as his grin was stretched from ear to ear, almost splitting his face in two. "Okay~"

Lovino's house is just a block away from his restaurant, so they took shortcut through the alley behind the restaurant. They just stepped into the alley when Ivan noticed something in front of the restaurant and halted.

Lovino didn't realize Ivan had stopped walking until he was few yards away and turned back. "What are you doing there?" he called out.

"I see something," was Ivan short reply. "Stay there. I need to take care of that thing in three minutes."

Without waiting for an answer, Ivan was walking away. When he was nearing the front of the restaurant, he saw a figure standing by the door. With the amount of light, Ivan could easily figure out that it was Bella.

"What do you want?"

Bella flinched at the sudden voice as she quickly spun her body to face the stranger. She was surprised to see Ivan but she had collected herself and questioned him.

"Where's Lovino? Why does he close the restaurant?"

"Where he is and what he does is none of your business," Ivan said in his best chilling stare and cold voice. "Get out of Lovino's life and never come back. You're nothing but a parasite for him."

"How dare you—"

"This is your first and last warning," Ivan took a step closer and leaned down to let the woman see his anger in the pair of his purple irises. "If you don't do as what I said, I'll make you regret to be born."

Ivan smiled in satisfaction at seeing Bella was shaken by his threat. He turned around and walked away, but suddenly stopped in few steps. He looked back at Bella, nasty smirk was playing on his lips. Before she could think of what he was going to do, a strong hand was collided with her cheek. The strength behind the hand had forced her down and fell to the ground, sprawling with her hand holding her bruised cheek.

"That's for stabbing Lovino on his back."

Ivan never thought he could be satisfied hearing a woman's cry until now.

"What took you so damn long?" Lovino asked once Ivan had appeared back at the alley. "And what's with the screeching noise I heard? Sounds like somebody's crying."

"Yeah, you're right." Ivan shrugged nonchalantly. "It's Bella crying."

"Bella?" Lovino repeated in surprise. "What did you do?"

"I did what you should've done two years ago," Ivan smirked. "I punched her."

"Ivan!" Lovino couldn't believe what Ivan had said. "You couldn't just punch a woman like that!"

"Well… I just did."

"You—"

"Lovino, you should know that I'm not a gentleman. I don't treat people by their gender," Ivan said seriously as he looked at Lovino with an unusual piercing gaze. "I was just giving her what she deserved. She hurt you, you can't expect me to just stay down and let her get away with that."

"But it has nothing to do with you," Lovino felt a little confused now. "Why would you do something like that for me?"

Ivan didn't immediately answer, he just moved closer until he was right in front of Lovino. He took Lovino's hand in his, looking directly into the pair of chocolate orbs before him. Lovino felt his hand twitched, but didn't pull back. He looked up and caught Ivan's stare.

"Because you had saved me," he smiled tenderly and Lovino could feel his heart was beating fast once more. "Didn't you remember? You were the one who saved my life back then, when I was about to die from hunger in this alley. Your food has reached deep into my soul, and now you have my heart in your hands."

He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Lovino's knuckles.

"I've fallen for you, Lovino."

Lovino could feel his face was burning, his heart was thumping madly like it was going to break out from his chest. His body was shaking, but it was not from anger, nor because of cold.

It was happiness.

"Stupid… bastard…"

He couldn't hold his feelings as tears started to fall from his eyes. Ivan saw the tears and he couldn't help but panicked upon seeing the man he held so dear was crying.

"Hey, hey, why are you crying? Lovino? Did I do something wr—"

The rest of his sentence was cut off when Lovino threw himself into Ivan's open arms, hugging his waist tightly. He buried his face into the much taller man's chest, his voice muffled by the material of Ivan's clothes.

"I'm not—sniff—cryin'… There's dust—sniff—in ma eyes…"

Ivan could only smile to see Lovino's childish act. He hugged the man back, holding him tightly in his embrace. He would never let him go whatever that would happen. Not ever. He patted Lovino's hair softly before saying,

"It's okay to love me back, you know."

"No, I don't!"

Ivan laughed and Lovino yelled some more, hitting the Russian on his back repeatedly until he realized his small fist wouldn't make him feel anything. He sighed dejectedly before putting his head back to Ivan's chest.

"I hate you."

He heard Ivan laughed once more and he tightened his hold on the man's back. He was with this man in less than half a year, but he knew that Ivan was not going to leave him. He understood what his grandfather's saying, and he was not going to let go off that.

For the first time in his twenty three years of life, Lovino smiled.

END

A/N: So… review? ^^