"You got the best of me."
Wips, different colours and context below the cut.
(TW: Religious themes)
If you're curious, this illustration is based on a comic (which is based on a fan fiction) I worked on for a long time called "You Got the Best of Me". Yes, it's a BTS song. It's a good B-side.
The idea is that traveller!Antonio finds his way to a small, wayward tomato farmed owned by this grumpy man called Lovino. He's the son of the village's head priest who had passed away from cancer when he was a child, not long after his younger brother, Feliciano was born.
Feliciano was always sickly and couldn't do very much. He was a crybaby. He was kind of pathetic but always cheerful and Lovino loved him very much, and worked hard to support him.
Growing up, Feliciano became very religious like their grandfather and trained to become a priest. Lovino didn't exactly disapprove, since it meant Feliciano would be taken care of, but he didn't believe in God as much as he used to. Afterall, God let his grandfather—the epitome of Godfearring—die so painfully. Feliciano tries his best to reconnect but their difference in faith made it difficult.
In the present day, Antonio and Lovino met when Antonio just stumbles into a village party one day. He leans against an empty barrel, exhausted, until someone taps his shoulder. He turns around and sees a handsome, albeit drunk as fuck young man giving him a bottle of alcohol, telling him to cheer up and drink. Antonio fell in love at first sight. That smile was gorgeous.
They meet again the next day when Antonio walks into the church and sees the same young man sitting at the back. The young man didn't say no when Antonio sits with him, and doesn't do anything when Antonio talks to him and asks to share his Bible.
After service, they walk around the church in silence and they go to a quiet stretch of meadow where Antonio plays some childhood songs on his guitar. Antonio was surprised when Lovino knew the words and could speak Spanish. Lovino said the 'weirdos' his grandfather made friends with taught him whatever he knew, which was surprisingly a lot.
They continue chatting and without knowing, it had been hours.
"Brother, it's lunch time," Feliciano said softly.
Lovino screamed. "H-how the fuck did you find me?"
Feliciano laughed as he pointed to the footsteps in the ground. "There's coffee! No alcohol, don't drink so much." Feliciano acknowledged Antonio with a curtsey and a suspicious glance. Lovino did not always have the best judgement.
The three of them walked together, Lovino walked ahead because he was hungry and knew that he needed to explain himself. Antonio and Feliciano introduced themselves. Feliciano was not as paranoid as before—Antonio seemed like a nice person. Antonio liked that Feliciano took things well despite his sickliness and hoped that he would get better soon. Feliciano gave him a look.
Antonio understood immediately. Feliciano was unnervingly pale and skinny. The only thing about him that was strong was his will to live. Antonio promised to never talk about it again and Feliciano smiled.
A few months go by and Antonio was helping Lovino harvest tomatoes and that was when Lovino pulls him aside and asks, "Do you know about my grandfather?" Antonio said vaguely because he and Feliciano slipped it in conversations here and there. Lovino nodded and then elaborated more on what Antonio 'vaguely' knew. Lovino usually wasn't this open so what happened now?
"Doctors said Feliciano won't have longer than a year left."
Antonio felt devastated. He did not know them for very long and yet he knew Feliciano was one of the better sort of people out there. He could only imagine how painful it must be for Lovino—his own brother!
"Is God trying to take a piss at me?" Lovino said angrily. "For not believing? For fucking giving up? For calling Him a bastard? If He feels bad, then maybe He should stop fucking killing everyone I love! My own family, Antonio! What the fuck is wrong with Him?"
Antonio listened. Lovino started ugly sobbing, understandably so. Antonio nodded.
"Feliciano's a good kid. He's always doing his fucking best. He never whored around, he's always nice. He cooked for old ladies. He prays and reads the Bible every fucking day. Why do you Hate your own, God? Is it because he's dating some guy? Well, I don't like the blonde son of a bitch either but I won't kill them. What the fuck is your problem? Aren't you the good one?"
Antonio pat his back. And then, Lovino said, "Why can't He just kill me instead? Let Feliciano go. Let him be happy."
"That won't change anything."
"Yeah that fucking won't but at least I won't be sad."
"Well, I would."
Lovino looked at Antonio like he was crazy.
"But you'll fucking bounce in what? A week? Two weeks? I know your type. You idiots never fucking stay in one place, always running around, bumming around without doing anything proper. Piss off, Antonio. You'll find another one in China or some shit."
"No, Lovino. I care about you. I don't want you to die. Feli's not dead yet. What would he say?"
"He'd tell me to pray."
"Praying isn't dying, sí?" Antonio said. The sun was setting and the birds were chirping. Antonio picked up a plump tomato from the ground, wiped it with his shirt and gave it to Lovino. "Eating this beautiful tomato won't cure you or Feli of your pain but it sure tastes really nice."
Lovino laughed at that childish response. He ate the tomato and smiled. It was quite delicious. Antonio thought he looked like an angel when he smiled, especially now. They looked at each other with an unspoken emotion, something at the tip of their tongue. Antonio knew it a bit better than Lovino but it was still scary because it meant giving up his freedom to stay here.
Forever.
Of course, he can talk about travelling with Lovino but he knew lazy bastard wouldn't want to do anything. He could try to get Lovino out of the house. He could lose his dignity and leave and reclaim that freedom. He could... Lovino laughed again and that smile was gorgeous.
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do you wanna see the west with me?
Notes below!
This is not a realistic road trip at all, but here are the places/activities shown:
Yorktown Battlefield, Virginia: the site where General Cornwallis surrendered in 1781, bringing the end of the Revolutionary War
Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: the famous bell with the message "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof", and later a symbol of liberty for abolitionists and suffragists
Drive-in theater: outdoor cinemas that reached their peak in popularity in the 1950s to 60s; the film is The Searchers (1956)
Kayaking: a fun lake/ocean activity
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail: this trail crosses nine states and follows the forced displacement of Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Muscogees, and Seminoles due to the Indian Removal Act in 1830
Traffic (and billboards): a bane to many and common in car-dependent cities
Cedar Hill Cemetery, Vicksburg, Mississippi: one of the oldest cemeteries in the US still being used; predates the Civil War and includes a Confederate burial site
Devil's Tower, Wyoming: a majestic (and sacred) butte and the first US national monument
Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah: a flat, empty salt pan estimated to hold 147 million tons of salt and a popular racing site
Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: a geyser in the world's first national park known for its reliable eruptions
Gas station, Nowhere, USA
Horseback riding, Montana: no comment, just a fun time
Las Vegas, Nevada: the world renowned Sin City, a place that caters to many vices
Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, North Dakota: group of missile defense facilities including missile silos and the pyramid-shaped radar system; built in 1975 and decommissioned after one day of operation, a "monument to man's fear and ignorance"
Hoover Dam, Nevada and Arizona: hydroelectric power plant on the Colorado River; the highest dam in the world at the time of its completion in 1935
Space Needle, Seattle, Washington: an observation tower with a revolving restaurant built for the 1962 World Fair "Living in the Space Age", a theme chosen to show the US was not lagging behind the USSR in the Space Race
Sequoia National Park, California: home of the world's largest tree by volume (General Sherman) and the highest point in the contiguous US (Mount Whitney)
Muir Beach Overlook, California: a former base station overlook with dugouts that gained importance immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 as a means to watch for attacks on nearby San Francisco
@usukweek
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I love how Canada has a fucking POLAR BEAR as a pet. God damn. Sure he looks all cute in the Anime, but imagine irl Kumajiro sitting beside his owner. Canada's trying to pry him off like "Oh he's a sweet bear! He just wants my pancakes ^_^" And England is like "get that beast away from me!"
I wonder how their first interaction went. In addition, I also wonder how France reacted when little Canada brought in a wild cub and dragged him everywhere like a teddy bear. He probably had a heart attack lol. France tried to get rid of Kumajiro, but Canada cried whenever he was missing, so he gave up and lets this bear crash at his place, praying that the mama bear wouldn't come knocking.
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kiss me while he kisses the sea
Lovino catches that look and squawks indignantly. “Oh no,” he says, shoving Antonio down into his captain’s chair and gripping his chin, forcing his head back, “you will not blame me because you are a glutton.”
Antonio spreads his legs wider, pulling Lovino into the space between them, hands settling sweetly at the curve of Lovino’s thighs. “I don’t blame you, mi joya. But you look so nice in my gold, and I did promise you the world…” His thumbs trace small circles up the backs of Lovino’s thighs, tone teasing, and Lovino feels his face burn.
(Or, Lovino bandages up an injured Antonio before riding him silly.)
Oneshot, Spamano.
Words: 3,840, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: M/M
Relationships: South Italy/Spain (Hetalia)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Pirate Spain (Hetalia), Bruising, Riding, Cockwarming, Mutual Adoration, bc theyre so annoying about each other, Romano bandaging Spain's cuts, bc that concept makes me soft and weepy, spamanoweek, spamanoweek2024
@spamano-week entry for the prompt of pirates, taken as a very small sample from a behemoth of a fic i hope to one day write fully and post. but. we'll see.
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