Fate's Compensation || SpainxReaderxRomano

SpainxReaderxRomano

You were moving, not running away. At least, that is what you told yourself. Everyone else believed that you were running from your mistake instead of solving it, but what did they know? Nothing. None of them would understand. For now though, you were not going to worry about them. Their words would not matter in the long run anyway. Now was your time to put the past behind you and build a new life; starting with settling in and finding a job. With little to unpack you decided to go on a quiet stroll through the city and look for a place looking to hire.

It didn’t take too long either. You were only walking for about 15 minutes before you came across the first ‘Now Hiring’ sign at a small clothing store. After a while of looking you choose to keep your options open until you had more to pick from you kept walking. There was another in a crafts shop, a couple hardware stores and a department store. It was now about an hour into your walk and you were about to turn around and make a decision when you noticed a young man standing out on the street setting up a small black board sign saying ‘Now Hiring = Waitress/cook’. The man stood up and looks around with what looked like a pout and absently tugged on a little curl of his red-orange hair before turning and walking back inside.

Intrigued you went to check out the place. It was a small Italian-Spanish restaurant on the corner of the block. The decorations were few but tasteful and in its entirety the restaurant had a very strong appeal to it. In the back of your mind you knew this would be the place you wanted to work. Stepping past the threshold you were greeted with the scent of freshly baked bread, steaming pastas and sharp aroma of herbs and spices. The customers chatted simply in the booths and at the tables while the young man you saw out front waited the tables. Most of his hair was held back with a white bandana save for some of his bangs and the one odd curl. He looked up at you and smiled though he seemed about to scream.

The young man walked over. “Table for one I assume?” His amber eyes shone lightly in the sunlight.

You nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

“Right this way,” he said after grabbing a menu.

He led you to a small two seat table at the corner of the restaurant where the windows met. Sun shone in warmly from both sides. It was comfortably warm and the coupled with everything else, you felt strangely happy. The menu was set in front of you, the light tap waking you from your thoughts.

“My name is Lovino; I’ll be your waiter today. Can I get you anything to drink?”
You checked the menu. “I’ll just have some water to start thank you.”

Lovino nodded and walked off. Absently you watched him scurry around the room diligently serving people. Then there came a call from the back and he excused himself. There was a pause in everything it seemed before another man walked out. He looked a little older than the last but was far friendlier in demeanor. Warm green eyes twinkled happily in the rays of the sun. The whole feel of the room changed immediately when he entered. It appeared that more people were laughing and they chatted far more enthusiastically. Of course, it could have all been in your imagination but you doubted it.

He set a glass of water in front of you. “Sorry for the switch, my name is Antonio; Lovino is now working in the back. Now, are you ready to order?”

“Well, I actually was here to ask if I could work here… I noticed the sign out front.”

Antonio smiled. “Usually we don’t get people coming in this fast. Well, certainly. I’ll take your resume and you can come back tomorrow, how does that sound?”

“Great, thank you,” you replied, handing him the resume.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like anything to eat?” You looked at the menu and found a dessert that looked really good. He appeared to notice. “Would you like that?”

“Yes please.”

Antonio nodded, noted it and left. After a little cursing in the back the Spanish man came back out with the dessert and set it in front of you. He wished you a pleasant meal and left you with the bill. You ate it slowly, enjoying the way it melted on your tongue. That mixed with the atmosphere made it feel so home-like. You left with a smile on your face and the hope that you would be accepted to work there. The next morning you woke up refreshed and ready to work. With a skip in your step you made your way to the restaurant. You managed to catch Lovino as he entered.

“Hey Lovino,” you greeted him.

Lovino blushed red for some reason and looked away. “Hello… um…”

“______.”

“Right, _____. Good morning… What are you doing here before opening?”

“Didn’t Antonio tell you that I was going to be working here?”

Lovino shook his head frantically, “He never tells me anything…”

“Or~ you just don’t listen chica~” Antonio replied, stepping out from the back, wiping his hands on his apron. Lovino stuck his tongue out at him. “Mature,” he turned to you. “Now _____ let’s get you a uniform and nametag, then you can get working~ Come.”

You followed him to the back and took a short tour of the area before retiring to the bathroom to change. There was the jingle of the bells at the door and Antonio’s exuberant greeting as you stepped out into the now familiar area. He seated the customer and retreated to where you were standing. Without a word he gestured to the customer and you understood. You made your way over and took your first order of your career there.

For three weeks you would work there without thinking anything was off. Then you would start noticing something. There was always that feeling of someone watching you while you worked but you only thought it was the customers. Soon you came to realize they would only glance, not stare. The one’s that stared were the other employees. Two boys, one Spanish and one Italian, names Antonio and Lovino. At first this knowledge bothered you but then, it was almost pay back for the many times you at stared at them. It seemed that they would look at you when you were smiling and laughing with the customers, just as you did to them. When you caught each other looking there was embarrassment but less than you thought there would be.

For the next months you found friends in the customers and in the friends of your coworkers. Life seemed alright. The people didn’t pry into things that made you uncomfortable because you felt safe telling them it was too sensitive to talk about. There was fun and smiles and laughing and love. Everything seemed quite alright from your perspective.

Then, suddenly, everything went downhill – fast.

You didn’t know what happened but there was an argument in the kitchen. After thanking the heavens that the last customer was gone you went back to check it out. Antonio and Lovino were fighting, which was normal, but the air in the kitchen felt thick with anger. You could almost see the hate rolling off of them. Their arms were jabbing and pointing while their mouths moved but you understood none of their native language. They continued yelling and screaming until, by chance it seemed, Antonio looked over and spotted you. He fell silent immediately.

Lovino was slow to catch on but once he did, they were both staring at you their faces red. Their mouths opened and close many times but neither got any words out. The Italian scratched the back of his head and scuffed the ground while the Spaniard worried his hands.

Antonio cleared his throat. “Chica, please, try to understand… we- it’s just- well…” he starts choking on his words.

You just shook your head. “What were you fighting about?” You couldn’t help but be curious. They both turned bright red. “… What? What is it?” you were almost worried now.

“We… we were fighting about… who would date… you…” Lovino muttered.

There was a long, drawn out silence in the kitchen. You stared at the two of them and they looked around embarrassed, trying to find something else to stare at but seeming to find nothing of interest. None of you could find the right words to say at this point. What was there to say? Never before did you have two guys fighting over you so furiously, so you could not come up with anything intelligent to say. They didn’t seem much better. One would open his mouth then shut it. The other would clear his throat but say nothing. The awkward situation dragged on for another few minutes before you just turned on your heel and left.

Lovino and Antonio stood in the kitchen quietly for another ten minutes before they finished up the cleaning and locked up. Tomorrow would be hell.

~~~*The Next Day*~~~

You wished it had been a day off; it would have given you more time to think. But, a job was a job and you had to do it. Thankfully it was busy and you never really had time to stop and think at all. Some of the customers noticed there was something off about one person or the other and would ask but they would just say it was an ‘off day’ for everyone. There wasn’t much else to say. As the work day drew to a close you became anxious. Would you have to face them? What questions might they ask? If one asked you out, would you say yes? Should you say yes?

The day ended anti-climactically though. Nothing was said and everyone left without a word to the other save for a ‘goodnight’ or ‘see you tomorrow’.

That night you lay in bed, thinking about, well, everything. Why you’re here, why you left and most of all, what the Hell you were doing. You thought about the boy that caused you to leave your old home and your friends. He was an asshole of the biggest kind and now you were running from him. You tried to tell yourself over and over that you weren’t running, but you were. You were scared of him, of what he might do to you. No one believed your claims. He was too nice of a guy to have done such a thing. So now, you were here, with two really nice guys that both wanted you.

Your dilemma was terrible. Either you choose neither and hope another guy like them comes around, or you choose one. It was terrible to be put in this position. No one should ever have to choose like this, but it seemed that you wouldn’t have much of a choice. Closing your eyes you tried to force yourself asleep but it didn’t come easy.

~~~*Couple Weeks Later*~~~

The awkward air around the restaurant finally became too much for you. You were fed up with this waiting and the silence. After the customers were gone you stepped in front of the boys as they tried to leave. They looked puzzled for a moment, but the look of determination on your face caused them to put down their bags and sit at one of the tables. There was nothing said for a long while as you tried to put the right sentences together. You didn’t want it to come out wrong.

“So… um... I really don’t know how to say this,” you began. The words fell from your lips in a jumbled mess. “No matter how many times I try to think of the right way to ask something, or say something, I can’t come up with anything. I just… I don’t want to have to choose between you two…”

The boys were quiet, just watching you. It didn’t take a genius to see that they were worried. It would take more than a genius to say something that could stop that worry. You weren’t a genius. There was no way you could say anything that would make this situation better. You liked both of the boys and you didn’t want to have to only pick one. It was selfish. You knew it was. But you couldn’t get away from the fact that having the two of them would be… Amazing. There was no way in Hell that was going to happen though.

“I… I’m sorry…”

Antonio stood first. “No… Listen ______. It’s not your fault. We shouldn’t have… brought this on you.”

“You weren’t meant to know…” Lovino interjected.

“We wanted to sort out our business before telling you but you just happened to be there at the wrong time… and found out.”

You smiled a little. They were both so sweet. It was like fate was overcompensating for the first bad boyfriend by giving you two really nice boys. Inside you, your heart was beating thousands of beats per second and you felt it shattering, chip by chip. Before you realized it you were sobbing, encased between the boys’ arms. Between the sobs you were muttering ‘I’m sorry’ over and over as if it were a prayer. They said nothing and just held you. In their minds they cursed themselves for bringing you this pain.

Slowly you’re sobs faded to just choked words and hiccups. As they pulled themselves away from you, you found yourself missing their warmth. They stood back from you and looked at the ground. To see their pained, ashamed and embarrassed faces and to know the joyful, carefree looks they usually wore that brought you such happiness… to say the least you were hurt. You hated how much pain you were causing them, then the fact that you might have to choose between them…

What would you do?