Ludwig sat upright in his bed. The dog had started to whine to be let out of the room, waking him from his peaceful sleep. He sleepily glanced over at the bedside clock, which read 3:00 AM. Getting up quietly, he shuffled carefully around his partner so as not to wake him. He opened the door and let the dog out before he climbed beside his lover in the bed. He smiled fondly at the smaller Italian man in his bed, watched the calm rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, and looked back on the day that they had first met.
Ludwig shuffled forward towards the line for the chair lift. He had had a good day skiing; the weather was not too cold, the ski resort wasn't too busy and the snow was soft and powdery. He got through the singles line fairly quick, and he pushed himself up to the front and waited. Only a smaller man was his partner for the lift, and Ludwig was grateful that he could have some peace and quiet; this was the longest lift on the resort, and Ludwig was used to putting up with loud and obnoxious rides with his older brother. He got on the lift with the other man, and waited for the stranger to notice that he was going to put down the safety bar. The stranger just sat there, swinging his feet back and forth like a child. Annoyed, Ludwig cleared his throat.
"I'm putting the bar down now, watch out."
The other man leaned back, and Ludwig lowered the bar quickly. He sat back to watch the beautiful mountain scenery around him when the stranger interrupted the silence.
"Oh! Your accent is so cool! Where are you from? I'm from Italy, that's why my voice is all happy, but your voice is so angry! Are you from Russia? I knew a Russian guy once! He was very scary and-!"
Ludwig watched the man talk on and on without seeming to stop for breath, and decided that the best way to shut him up was to answer his question.
"No, I am from Germany." He said, hoping that the Italian would just leave him be after that.
"I've never been to Germany before! Is it nice? I heard that the women are pretty and that people drink lots of beer and eat sausages and-"
Ludwig zoned out and just let the man talk. He decided that he could feign interest, and that the man would take the hint.
About five minutes into the strange man's ramblings, the lift stopped dead in its tracks. They dangled ten feet in the air, swaying back and forth with the gentle pushing of the wind. Ludwig paled. This could not be happening.
"Attention all guests." Began the loud speaker. "We are having a problem at the top of the hill, so we are putting the hill and the chair out of service, we will begin unloading people from the bottom to the top, thank you for your understanding, and please keep yourselves warm."
Ludwig was in disbelief. He could tell that they were about halfway to the lift, probably about a ten to fifteen minute wait for their rescue, and he was stuck with the world's mouthiest stranger. Great.
That's when he noticed that the man had gone completely silent. As much as he appreciated the peace and quiet, from the short time that he had spent with this stranger, he knew that quiet wasn't a norm for him.
"Are you alright… er…. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." He said kindly, looking over at the man.
"It's Feliciano, but you can call me Feli if you'd like." The man said quietly, as he started to shake.
"What's wrong? Are you too cold?" Ludwig asked worriedly. He couldn't sacrifice much of his own clothing if the man started to freeze.
"No, I'm fine, it's just that... that..." The man couldn't finish, he let out a high pitched squeal as the chair started to rock back and forth more viciously as the wind picked up.
"Feli, are you afraid of heights? You seemed fine earlier." Ludwig was confused; the man didn't seem to have any problem before.
"I was distracting myself by talking to you, so I wasn't scared, you know, you're such a good listener that I could talk for hours, usually people like my brother tell me to shut up."
Ludwig felt a pang of pity for the man.
"Would talking help you to relax?" He asked.
Feliciano nodded and looked at him expectantly. Ludwig could see his wide eyes through his ski goggles, and although the color was distorted by the yellow tint, Ludwig estimated that they were a soft hazel brown color. He knew he must look intimidating to the smaller man, as his ski mask, goggles and helmet made it so that his face wasn't visible, and he was much larger than Feliciano. He was amused at how brave the little man was for talking to strangers, but could be so terrified by heights as to be speechless.
"Well, my name is Ludwig, and I was born in Berlin…"
Ludwig had managed to talk for ten minutes straight, a feat that he was sure he had thought he was incapable of. Feli was smiling once again, and nodding and laughing at all the rights parts, and soon they were talking and listening to each other, sharing their hobbies, laughing at old stories, and having a great time.
After Feli had wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes from a story about Ludwig's dog eating his underwear, he smiled widely. Ludwig noticed how they had subconsciously gotten closer to one another throughout their conversation; both were sat in the middle of the lift, shoulders touching, whereas before they were on opposite sides of the chair.
Just as Feli opened his mouth to speak, they heard a commotion below.
A snowmobile had pulled up, and people were shouting to one another, and were working on setting up a rescue harness.
Feli and Ludwig cheered at their rescuers, but both were silently disappointed that their time with each other had come to an end, but they both had felt a connection.
When safely back on the ground at the resort, Ludwig and Feliciano had been awkward at first, although they were forced to be together on the chair lift, they both genuinely had a good time and didn't want it to be over. Ludwig had an idea, and leaned down to Feli so he could hear him over the hustle and bustle of the resort. The height difference was much more prominent on the ground, and had taken them both by surprise at first.
"I'm cold, do you want to go into the lodge and get a hot drink with me?"
Feli smiled mischievously. "Does that mean I can finally get to see your face?"
Ludwig laughed. "Ja, I suppose it does."
Ludwig remembered that day fondly, and he chuckled a little at what had ensued at the lodge. He blushed a bit when he had remembered Feli's reaction to seeing his face uncovered from his helmet, mask and goggles.
"Luddy! You didn't tell me that you were handsome!" He had yelled loudly. Ludwig had remembered going blood red and ushering Feli over to a table, careful not to spill their hot chocolate.
"And you're muscly too! Are you trying to be perfect Luddy?" Feli was feeling up Ludwig's bicep as he was pushed towards the table. Ludwig was mortified and yet flattered at the same time.
"You know, you're handsome too." He said, looking away shyly.
Feli just about had a panic attack with calling him a "charmer" and swooning around everywhere that Ludwig had to distract him by asking if he wanted a spoon for his hot chocolate. They had talked and laughed, their skis laid forgotten outside while they each enjoyed the other's company. When the resort had closed, they had exchanged contact information, and Ludwig had called Feli that very night. Their first date had been the very next evening, though Ludwig supposed that their time at the resort had been their real first date.
Ludwig looked down at his lover, and he knew that he was being sappy, but he felt as though he was destined to be on that ski chair that day. He wrapped himself around Feli and pulled him close, thankful for the small man in his arms, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep once more.
That is, until the dog whined to be let back in.