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There was only one wish that Lovino had voiced regarding his birthday, and that was to be left alone and allowed to sleep in during the morning. Now that he was no longer living with his brother, Lovino thought this might just be the year he got that wish.
But then Gilbert happened.
Along came Gilbert and goodbye went his lazy mornings. At least Feliciano didn’t try that shit any other day of the year but their birthday. Gilbert, however, had no such boundaries with waking him up for whatever reason. He loved his boyfriend, don’t get him wrong, but what was it with that man and getting up at the crack of dawn every single goddamn day? It was ridiculous, particularly on weekends. Particularly when Lovino didn’t have to think about work and oh my god, it should be illegal to even consider exercising before noon. Unless morning sex counted for that, although for Lovino that still was asking too much ninety percent of the time.
With that all said, it was quite the surprise for him that when he finally cracked his eyes open, did some stretching as well as his fair share of yawning, the bedside clock read quarter to ten. That was late in their house without any sort of disturbances. Like, insanely late. Lovino had started wondering if he should maybe be worried about his boyfriend when said man poked his head through the door, giving a bright grin before the rest of his body followed into the room.
The bed bounced a little as Gilbert dropped down onto it, prompting to Lovino throw his pillow at him, as per usual. “Hey, babe. You know what day it is today, right?”
“Yeah, the day people use a saint’s day to get shitfaced.”
“And a certain sarcastic someone’s birthday!” the other man said with a little too much enthusiasm and the same twinkle in his eyes as those times when he had tried to persuade Lovino into going places with him that the Italian certainly did not want to go, thank you very much. Something told him he had better prepare himself for one helluva tiring day before it was too late.
“So,” Gilbert continued, stretching out on an elbow and tracing shapes on Lovino’s bare chest with a hand, “what do you say we celebrate? Like, right now? Come on, let me spoil you rotten. I’ll make it worth your while!”
His words earned only a tired groan, his tracing fingers a firm push away, but Gilbert was undeterred. Sometimes his tenacity was exasperating, but there were times like now when Lovino had to turn his head away and smile at how his boyfriend would nuzzle into his neck, spreading insistent kisses and promises across olive skin. He knew just how to wear him down, and Lovino couldn’t even be mad at him for it. In the end, there was nothing for him to do but allow it, all that he had planned for the day whatever it may be.
The morning had been surprisingly tame. Gilbert had insisted he stay in bed and run downstairs to fix him up some breakfast, bringing up a tray full of fruits, pancakes, and eggs before Lovino could fall back asleep (although it was a close call). They had mulled around in bed, taking their time eating. Gilbert had taken to feeding him grapes like he was royalty from olden times, holding a new piece up to his mouth before the Italian could think to ask, and staring at him with a weird smile while he chewed. At first, Lovino had assumed there was something on his face, but a glance towards the mirror had ruled out that option. So he went with the more reasonable explanation: his boyfriend was a total, and slightly creepy, dork.
Things had picked up during the afternoon, but not by much. A few people called to wish Lovino a happy birthday. The most notable among that number was Antonio, who had plucked out a snazzy little riff of “Happy Birthday” on his guitar which had Gilbert yelling in the background for an encore while Lovino nearly threw the phone at him because eavesdropping was rude as fuck, you dick. He wasn’t sure who had laughed harder at that, his boyfriend or former caretaker he had forgotten to hang up on. Then, after a little chase around the house had exhausted him for the moment, Lovino had gone out to spend a little time in the garden. Gilbert might not have enjoyed the activity much, but it wasn’t his birthday and so he had agreed to stay out of Lovino’s froofy hair to lounge inside and, Lovino suspected, play videogames (he was dating a total child). Gardening always entailed a good shower session afterwards, which he never got to do alone anymore. It was hard to get annoyed when the other person would rub his shoulders so caringly, though.
It really wasn’t until later on in the evening that things had finally taken a more Gilbert-befitting turn to them.
“A carnival?” Lovino had asked, brows raised and gaze somewhat incredulous as he looked over and up at him.
Gilbert was quick to nod and even quicker to grab him by the arm, ignoring the little grumble of protest the action received and walking linked at the elbows like that. “Yeah, a carnival. They’re fun! Plus I know you didn’t want to spend your birthday cooped up in the house all day any more than I would, so this should be just the—“ He paused to scrummage about in his pocket, triumphantly pulling out a scrap of paper some seconds later to wave in front of the shorter man’s face. “Ticket!”
If he hadn’t been so nice today, Lovino might have punched him for such a shitty pun. As it was, the Italian man only snorted and muttered a quick “We’ll see about that.”
He didn’t have high hopes for the place, honestly. These things were designed to draw in a younger crowd. Not that Lovino was an old man or anything, really, unless you factored in age, grumpiness, and an affinity for naps. But it turned out to be a great night for the both of them. Ferris wheels were a lot more fun when you could cuddle with another person when it stopped at the top. Normally Lovino would bypass all those hokey little game booths whenever he came with Feliciano, but Gilbert had seemed to make it his mission to stop at them all. Every. Single. One. It was almost worth all the trips to have his boyfriend lovingly bestow every won prize on him, ranging from cheap jewelry to cozy plushies.
By the time they were walking away from the last booth, Lovino’s neck was all but covered in necklaces and face in an embarrassed but pleased flush as he hung off Gilbert. For warmth, of course. His boyfriend had laughed, but conceded the point; it was getting chillier now that the sun had been down for some time and the stars were visible overhead. Gilbert had even slipped his jacket off and around shivering shoulders, but that didn’t stop Lovino from staying huddled close. Hey, snuggling was nice.
“So did you have fun today, Lovi?”
“No, dumbass, I was with you for it.” Eloquent as always, though his voice might have been a teensy bit muffled from the collar of a much-too-large coat.
“Oh, so you had tons of fun then!”
“Your powers of deduction suck.”
“Heh, that’s not the only part of me that su—“
“Gilbert.”
There was a hint of apology in the smile flashed down to him, but the shit-eating aspect all but overruled it. “Shutting up now.”
And he did, shockingly enough. Usually the times they went out for walks together were filled with Gilbert’s non-stop chatter. He was as bad as Feliciano, minus all the flirting that would happen whenever his brother would pass by a pretty girl. Not that Lovino didn’t participate in said flirting, but that was clearly beside the point.
He wasn’t sure how long they walked for. Pressed against Gilbert’s side, partially from the pale arm wrapped around his waist but also because of his own need for closeness, he was comfortable enough to shut his eyes and let someone else lead without criticism. It might have been because he was tired, though he had managed to fulfill his old man tendency of squeezing in a nap after lunch, or it might have simply been because Gilbert made him feel safe like no one else could. He didn’t tense up when he felt something brush his forehead, only sighed when it went away.
“I can kiss you somewhere else if you want, but I thought you’d like to open your eyes first,” Gilbert said, sounding amused.
Lovino huffed, but did as suggested, a soft, barely audible gasp escaping from his lips when he saw what was in front of him.
They were standing in front of a lake, one that he had visited plenty of times in the past. That he had previously been here before did nothing to take away from his wonder, for Lovino had never come out so late in the past. It was remarkably quiet all around, with the stars he had seen overhead before now twinkling in the water. The moon, too, could be picked out cutting through the darkness. There wasn’t much wind, but the occasional ripple could be caught disturbing the whole scene.
Sometime during all his staring, he had moved to stand on his own, still wrapped up in his borrowed jacket. He didn’t notice Gilbert getting down on a knee beside him until the Prussian had cleared his throat. Then, once that had processed through his dazed mind, he didn’t even let the man get out all of his proposal before practically tackling him the rest of the way to the ground.
And sometime even later, when the kisses had cooled off in their intensity and the two were smiling at each other like it was their first date all over again, Gilbert was allowed to slide the ring on.