It was raining.

Ludwig heaved, closing the book that he was trying to read. Only minutes ago was the sun shining; a chance to finally relax and this happened. He decided it was best to go home before he became fully drenched. He stood up from the bench he was sitting on and a voice stopped him from continuing.

"Hey, hey!" said the voice. "You're soaking wet! Don't you have an umbrella?" Before Ludwig could give a response, the stranger hoisted his umbrella over Ludwig's head. "Which way are you headed?"

"South to the apartment complex on Cedar Street." Ludwig then held his tongue, realizing it wasn't a good idea to give a stranger such information.

The stranger's eyes lit with excitement. "What a coincidence! I'm going there too! Let's walk together."

"I shouldn't be walking around with someone I don't know." Ludwig responded. He gave his goodbyes and thanked him for letting him use the umbrella, and soon went on his way.

As he walked, the stranger kept a distance away from Ludwig, but continued to walk in the same direction as him. It came to the point where they were both at the apartments, and Ludwig hastily turned to him.

"Will you stop following me before I call the police?"

"Please don't! I live here!" Before Ludwig could reply, the stranger whimpered something under his breath, and ran down the hallway to his room.

Ludwig felt guilt rise in his chest. He thought about trying to apologize to him, but who knew if he would even open the door. His parents most likely were going to worry if he wasn't home soon.

He went upstairs to his apartment door. Immediately his parents barraged him with questions, and Ludwig explained he became sidetracked. Since the next day would be Saturday, Ludwig decided it would be best to try and apologize then.

After dinner, Ludwig headed to his bedroom with his brother Gilbert following him. He was quite annoyed about the situation; his older brother was twenty-one, had no job, and was not in college. He used to stay in his parent's basement, but after moving the two shared a room.

"So Ludwig," Gilbert began, "what were you doing to become so 'sidetracked'?" Gilbert uncomfortably got close to Ludwig, causing him to take a step back.

"Reading outside."

"Eh? But it's raining!"

"And that's when I went home." Ludwig sighed. He decided not to mention what else happened.

A grin crept its way onto Gilbert's face. "Nerd!"

The next day Ludwig quickly got dressed. His parents left for work and Gilbert was watching television. He told his brother he would be out for a bit, and then left.

Many thoughts raced through Ludwig's head. What if he went to the wrong room number? What if nobody was home, or his apology wasn't accepted? Ludwig stood outside the door that he saw the stranger scurry into. He was standing there for quite some time, trying to gain the courage to knock on the door.

The door eventually opened without Ludwig having to do anything. The same face that he saw before was there, eyes confused.

Ludwig pondered on how to explain himself. "I wanted to say sorry for threatening you last night."

The stranger tilted his head and then chuckled. "Oh, you're fine! Would you like to come in?"

Ludwig nodded. "Alright, but it looked like you were about to leave. What is your name?"

"I was just going to have a morning stroll, that's all. Having company is way more fun! We just can't wake up my brother, he'll get cranky at me!" he explained to Ludwig. "And my name is Feliciano!"

"I'm Ludwig," he said, offering a small smile.

Feliciano stepped aside to let him go in. "Nice to meet you, Ludwig!"

A/N: I shouldn't be starting another story but I just had to do this! I've been trying to start a GerIta story for a while! Sorry this first chapter is uneventful though, I promise it will get better! And I know this chapter is super short, but the next ones will be much longer (I already have a few done). Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated! Thank you for reading!