This chapter is dedicated to guardianluver_kuroha who has helped me through a lot of my stories! Especially Treasure.
With the house to ourselves, Lovino and I do the one thing we haven't been able to do in a long time.
I point at him with a confident stance, "Lovino Vargas!"
"What?" He tilts his head.
"I challenge you to a game of Mario Kart!"
His surprised expression fades into a mischievous one, and he slowly cracks his knuckles. "Bring it on, (Name)."
"I'll destroy you," I whisper, getting super close and staring up at him.
"Goddammit!" I scream, throwing my remote against the wall. "That was the fifth time you've won!"
"You were so confident, too!" He laughs, holding his stomach.
"I'm rusty," I say defensively. "Emil has been playing on this thing non-stop since he got out of the hospital."
"It must've been boring there," the Italian sighs, picking up my remote and placing it back on the charger. "Especially after-" My eyes shoot to him, an instant sadness washing over me. He looks back at me, but averts his gaze after seeing the pain in my eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."
"No, it's alright," I shake my head, calming my quivering lip.
He takes me in his arms, and I rest my head on his chest, happy that he's opened up to me more. "I'm glad you started to be more straightforward with me..." I whisper.
"Yea," he blows his curl out of his face. "How can I not be? You're the love of my life, you deserve to know what I'm thinking."
A mischievous, Cheshire Cat smirk rests on my lips. "What are you thinking about right now?"
His cheeks grow red, and he turns away. "Nothing."
"You deserve to know what I'm thinking," I lower my voice, mimicking him. "What happened to that?"
"I-I thought you'd forget about that. I didn't expect you to ask me right then!"
"Well, I did, and I deserve to know!" I use air quotes.
Lovino sighs, then turns his back to me. "I-I wanted-"
"Uh huh?" I urge him on, hugging him from behind.
"To kiss you." My eyes open wide, and he is facing me again, cupping my cheeks. He stares into my eyes with his beautiful hazel ones. "Can I?" I slowly nod my head, and he leans in. "Thank you..." He whispers as he places his lips on mine. I tangle my fingers in his hair, careful to not pull or touch his curl. He bites at my lip, and I smile.
"That's new."
"I-Is it?" He tilts his head, pulling away. I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him.
"Yea, but I liked it."
His arms snake around my waist and he kisses my forehead. "I'm glad. I'll be sure to experiment more, then."
Just then, someone bangs their fists on our door. Lovino groans, and walks over. "Yes?" He asks, getting his teeth as he opens the door.
"Hello," I recognize the accent.
"Vlad? What are you doing here?" My feet carry me to the door, and I stand next to Lovino. Vlad is the man who takes care of the graveyard.
"You had told me to come and get you when the sunflowers bloomed," he smiles sweetly, exposing his fang-like canines.
I instantly grab my shoes and put them on, and Lovino does the same. Vlad begins to run down the street, us following close behind him. We run into the small, gated graveyard and we go straight to Ivan's grave. The sunflowers Emil had planted all those years ago finally began to grow. "They're beautiful," I whisper.
"Yes, they are," Lovino agrees, wrapping his coat around my shoulders.
Vlad rests his hand on my head. "I know Ivan loved you both."
"How do you know?" I ask, my eyes not leaving the sunflowers. "You never met him."
"Let's just say," he taps his chin, "he told me."