Reading
I wrote most of this whilst being ill excuse for rubbishness. It was inspired by a German translation of an Italian classic in our school library. Our German section is really tiny so it was really weirdly coincidental when our teacher pointed it out in the lesson. Me and a fellow Hetalia fan thought up the idea, so yeah… This is dedicated to her and several other Hetalia fans who I love!! (Prussia, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, America… you know who you are!! XD)
Ludwig sat down with the book. It was early evening, mid-winter. It was almost completely dark, the storm clouds making it darker than it should have been for the time of year, he had finally finished the paperwork for a new policy his boss was introducing. He was a little tired, but not tired enough to sleep, and more than a little thirsty. He had been denying himself anything to drink until the paperwork was done, which was not an enjoyable method of working, but it meant that his work was finished fairly quickly. He took a mouthful of the beer beside him, before opening the book and beginning to read.
The book was a translation, from Italian to German. Recently he had been feeling that he should be a better friend to Italy. He tried, but more often than not he ended up snapping at the incompetent idiot who had somehow wormed his way into Ludwig's heart. He had evaluated 'how to be a good friend' by reading various books, and watching other people, and had eventually established that they needed to be able to hold a decent conversation. Since he was acutely aware that he lacked the spontaneity to start a conversation about nothing he had decided to read this book. It was classic Italian literature; Il Decamerone by Boccaccio. He was reading it in Italian, but was going to translate it later. He thought that if he read one of the classics Feliciano would definitely have read it, so they would have something to talk about. He would just leave the book somewhere, so Italy would notice it, and then they would have something to talk about. On some level Ludwig was also doing thisto spend more time with Feliciano; maybe he would come over more often if they had something to talk about…
Feliciano bounced into the room. 'Doi-su!!' Ludwig started, he had been beginning to translate the book. He hadn't really enjoyed it; it had been too graphic in it's descriptions of the plague, and far too erotic. In fact he was very much confused as to why Feliciano would read it, but as it was an Italian classic it was almost certain that he would have. He vaguely listened to Feliciano's prattling as he continued to
translate the first tale. Feliciano stopped prattling and skipped over to Ludwig's desk. 'What are you doing Doi-su?' He took the copy Ludwig was working from and looked at it 'This is in Italian!' A puzzled expression crossed his face. 'Why is this in Italian? You're German, remember?' Ludwig raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ignored this last comment. 'It's Il Dcamerone by Boccaccio.' His hands were shaking slightly, holding the pen. He didn't really know why he cared so much, but he felt slightly excited, and more nervous than he usually was around the other man. Feliciano looked up at him, expectantly, eyes wide. 'What's it about?' he asked, innocently. Ludwig's stomach sank. The plot was too complicated for him to explain easily, and Feliciano obviously hadn't read the book. It had all been pointless. He hadn't even liked the book.
A few weeks later Ludwig was at the Italian brothers house for a meal. Romano was out somewhere, and Ludwig and Feliciano had finished eating. Ludwig was sitting in the living room, waiting for Feliciano who had gone into another room to find something. He came back in, clutching a leather book to his chest. Ludwig noticed the title. Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers* by Goethe. He raised an eyebrow. 'You're reading that?' He didn't really think that Feliciano reading Goethe was a good idea, it was fairly complex and didn't usually end happily. Feliciano smiled shyly. 'I tried… But I can't read German.' Ludwig smiled slightly. 'It's ok.' Feliciano's face fell. 'But I wanted to read something German!' Ludwig paused for a moment before saying 'I could read to you. I can translate it as we go.' Feliciano grinned. 'Yeah! That's great! I'll go and find a reading…' His voice trailed off. Ludwig raised his eyebrows. A reading what?' Feliciano faltered. 'I don't know…' The older man rolled his eyes 'sit down.' Feliciano sat down on the floor , and Ludwig began to read. He changed the ending.
*Goethe's Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers is basically about a boy whp falls in love with an engaged girl. She gets married while he is away, when he returns the protagonist, Werthers, finds himself unable to harm anyone else, so after deliberation cannot kill his rival. He ends up committing suicide.