Night

32. Night

Antonio Carriedo cared about his lover, Romano Vargas, and his young three-year-old daughter, Katerina, very much. Sometimes, however, the two would... get on his nerves. Romano, with his constant "mixed emotions", and Katerina, with her tendency to lose items quite easily, most notably - as of late - her stuffed German Shepherd doll that Ludwig had given her after her birth. As much as Romano hated it, seeing as that it was from "that damn potato bastard!", she could never be without it when she slept; every night it would be tucked under her arms. If the item was lost... He had to deal with her sobbing uncontrollably until the doll was found. This caused him and Romano a lot of grief in trying to find the doll to pacify the child so that they could get some sleep as well.

Of course, this was another one of those nights that nearly gave Antonio nightmares thinking about it. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as it normally was.

"Papa!" The little girl yelled from her room in a panic.

"Yes, mi hija?" Antonio called back to her as he made his way to Katerina's room, hoping to himself that she didn't lose her stuffed animal again.

Upon reaching her room, Antonio's hopes had came crashing down. Katerina's room was in such disarray from, he guessed, her desperate searches for the doll. His daughter had a panicked expression on her face, and she looked close to tears as well.

"Have you seen Bobo?" Katerina looked up at him, the tears already welling up in her eyes.

Antonio shook his head as he knelt down to his daughter's height. "No, I have not, mi querida. Why isn't he in your room? Did you lose him again?" He asked, gently, as he brushed his daughter's dark brown hair behind her ear.

Upon removing his hand, Katerina nodded, sadly, as she scuffed her bare toe against the carpeted floor. "Yes..." She admitted, quietly, and embarrassed. "I haven't seen him since Mama gave me lunch..."

Antonio sighed, but still put on a smile as he stood back up to his full height. "Then let's ask Mama if he knows where Bobo is, shall we?"

Eagerly, Katerina nodded as she followed Antonio, who had left her room and went to look for Romano.

Upon reaching Romano, who was getting ready to go to bed, Antonio asked, "Lovi~ Have you seen Bobo?"

Romano was about to insult the Spaniard, but upon spotting his daughter - who had hopped up onto their bed - and realizing that Antonio was talking about her toy, he nodded. Romano wasn't stupid - he realized that not telling his lover where the toy was would equal a sleep-deprived night for the both of them. "Uh, yeah... I washed it earlier, so it should be in the laundry basket..." He then muttered, "Tomato bastard..." under his breath, not so much caring whether or not his daughter could hear him. "It reeked!" He exclaimed.

Antonio nodded with a thankful smile as his daughter bounded off of the bed and ran to Antonio's side. "Thank you, Lovi~" He would have added 'I'll repay you later~' if Katerina wasn't next to him to hear.

"Thank you, Mama!" Katerina exclaimed, cheerfully, as she grasped her papa's hand and tugged. "Come on, Papa!" She whined, eagerly.

Antonio chuckled. "I'm coming, querida~" He replied as he led her to the laundry basket.

Reaching their destination, Katerina was jumping up and down in excitement. "Hurry, Papa!" She whined once more. "I want Bobo!"

Antonio chuckled once more as he reached into the laundry basket and pulled out a German Shepard doll. "Here you are, Katerina~" He said as he handed the toy off to her.

Squealing in delight, she squeezed the doll happily and grinned. "Thank you so much, Papa!" She hugged his leg, tightly. "Ti amo Papa!"

Antonio smiled, ruffling her messy hair. "Ti amo querida. Now... go to your room so I can tuck you in~ I'll get Mama!"

With a nod, Katerina nearly sprinted to her room with such glee.

Romano had made his way through their home and reached Antonio. "As... much as you're a tomato bastard, you're..." He looked down. "One would never thought you'd be a good papa."

Antonio chuckled, playing with Romano's curl that, in response, made Romano emit a 'chigigi' noise. "You would know~ I raised you!"

Batting Antonio's hand away from his precious curl, Romano grumbled incoherently. "Yeah, but ya didn't do a good job at that..."

Antonio rolled his eyes with a smile. "But you still love me~"

Shyly, Romano nodded. "Yeah..." He mumbled as Antonio had cupped his chin in his hand and kissed him directly on the lips.

After a few moments, the two broke apart from the romantic kiss. "Er..." Romano stuttered, cheeks turning red.

"We have to tuck in Katerina!~" Antonio exclaimed as he led his Italian lover to their daughter's room, but not before adding, "I'll repay you when we get back to our room~"