A Picnic Confession

By Delation

~Hetalia Gerita fanfiction~

Dark clouds hovered above the town, casting the little town in darkness. It would rain soon, Ludwig knew that, but he simply couldn't wait. He pulled up the collar of his coat to keep the biting wind from assaulting his neck. There were very few people out today, which, normally, the tall man would've been greatful for, but today, the sheer emptiness bit at his nerves. Perhaps, it was not the best day to ask someone out, but his confidence was fading, and it was now or never. He had managed to gather the courage to call Feliciano and ask him to be ready for a walk by noon. It was probably gong to take quite a bit of time and courage to explain to the oblivious Italian exactly what the German meant went he said 'I like you'. He kept his head low and his pace quick as he approached Feliciano's neighborhood. A long wait at the crosswalk had slowed him down, and he was in a hurry. He was never late, and he certainly would not be today.

Ludwig reached his destination right on time and slowly climbed the cobblestone steps to the front door. He adjusted his coat and slicked back his hair, assuring that there were no stray pieces, before knocking loudly on the heavy wooden door. Muffled voices came from within; A woman asking someone if they were ready, and calling fo them to hurry, a man requesting silence, he was trying to remember his special sauce recipe, and the familiar 'Ve~' of the German's best friend as he bounded down the stairs. After a moment, the door flew open, and Ludwig was greeted with a tight hug.

"Ludwig, I'm-a so glad you came! It's been rainy all day, and I've-a been stuck inside with nothing to do!" Feli buried his face in Ludwig's coat and breathed in the comforting scent of his friend. The taller man bent down to hug the smaller, and noticed the familiar smell of tomato and garlic on Feliciano.

"Are you ready to go, zhen?" Feli pulled away and opened his mouth to answer, when a sweet voice chimed in from behind.

"Ciao, you must-a be Ludwig! Feli has talked a lot about you. It's-a so nice to meet you. He was just finishing helping his father prepare dinner. Come in, come in. It's-a cold outside. I'm-a sure they won't be much longer." Ludwig followed wordlessly behind Feliciano and his mother. The sweet aroma of the pasta seemed to guide them straight to the kitchen, where the German noticed a man, who looked quite a bit like Feli, was cooking at the stove.

"Honey, this-a is Ludwig, Feli's friend. I hope you don't-a mind, but I let him wait in here while you boys finish up dinner." The woman grabbed a towel and began drying the few dishes that sat on the counter.

"Not at all! Ciao Ludwig. It's-a nice to meet you! We won't-a be too long with this pasta." Ludwig offered his hand for a shake, but instead was greeted with a hug.

Ugh, vhat is vith Italians und hugs?

"Zhat is quite alright. Take as long as you need." He took a seat in the corner of the room, observing as his love dashed around searching here and there for the various herbs being called to him by his father. Once or twice, he could not locate the items he searched for, and he became flustered, coloring his cheeks an adorable rosy pink.

Soon, all the ingredients were found, and -with the help of Feli's mother- the meal was complete. The two boys were sent out the door with a bowl of steaming pasta and an umbrella. They walked in silence for a while, Ludwig trying to gather his thoughts, and Feliciano began to get nervous.

"Vhat? Vhat are you staring at?" Ludwig had noticed the small italian was staring at him, and it made him self concious.

"Nothing. It's just that... well, you look-a so angry. Did I do something to make-a you mad? I'm so sorry Ludwig, it-a won't happen again! I'm sorry!"

"Nein, nein. You did nozhing. Vell, nozhing bad. I vas just... thinking."

"Gee Lud, you sure are-a scary when you think."

Vhat? I can't scare him. I don't want to scare him, I vant to make him smile. I vant to see him happy and laughing, not cowering in fear, waving around zhat vhite flag of his.

"I-I... I didn't mean to scare you. Look, Feli, I have to tell you somesing, and you probably aren't going to understand vhat I'm trying to tell you, but please, listen to me." Ludwig stopped on the sidewalk, and Feli halted his skipping and turned to face his buddy.

After a moment, he said, "Nonsense Ludwig. I'm-a used to your funny accent!"

"Mein Gott, you idiot. Zhat's not vhat I meant. I meant, you might not be able to comprehend zhe meaning of my vords." He looked into Feli's golden eyes, willing him to, for once, stop acting so dang stupid and try to understand what was going on.

"O-okay then. What is it?" Feliciano's smile quickly disappeared, and he seemed to physically shrink with the intensity of his best friends stare. The way he was looking at him... it was...

"Vell, you see, it took me a lot of courage to decide to tell you this. It's a razher personal issue, and as you know, I don't like to discuss zhose kinds of zhings. But I couldn't vait anymore. I need to tell you zhis." Itlay's heart sank as horrible possibilities danced around his brain. Personal issue? Couldn't wait anymore?

"Oh, Ludwig, don't-a tell me your moving! No, you can't-a move! Please, you're-a my only friend! If you leave, who will-a rescue me when the bullies try to throw me in the trash can, or lock me in a smelly gym locker? Who will hold me tight and tell me everything will-a be okay when I've-a had a bad day? Oh, Ludwig, you can't-a go, you can't!" The thought of being left completely alone were to much for him to bear, and he grabbed onto Ludwig for dear life.

"Feli, Feli! I'm not moving! Stop. Calm down, people are staring!" The blonde glanced around at the pedestrains who were pointing and shooting mean looks in his direction as he tried to unlatch the clingy Italian from his arm. "Feliciano, I'm not going to leave you! Now vill you stop crying? I have to tell you somesing!"

With that, Feliciano perked up and let out a sigh of relief. "Ve~! Oh thank goodness. I thought I was-a going to be left-a behind. Hooray! Ludwig is-a staying!" He danced around wet sidewalk as he sang his happiness. "Anyway, what did you want to tell me?" He clapped his hands together and stared up expectantly at his companion.

"I'd razher ve go somewhere vith less people." As he glanced around, there were still a few people looking at him hatefully, and it was not helping his self-esteem.

"Ve~! Good idea! We-a can have a picinc! Oh, won't that be fun?" Feliciano grinned widely and held up the bowl of steaming pasta.

"Sure, ve can have a picnic. But not out in zhis veather. Follow me." He grabbed Feli's hand and his heart leapt at the contact. It was not something he was used to, but it wasn't unpleasant, so held on and lead his love away from the wind and pending rain.

**Feliciano on holding Ludwig's hand**

"Sure, ve can have a picnic. But not out in zhis veather. Follow me." Ludwig took hold of Feliciano's hand, and the tiny italian nearly melted away. A warmth that he was not used to engulfed him, and he wanted snuggle up into Ludwig's arms and feel even warmer. There was always a certain peace about Feli when Ludwig wrapped his strong arms around him. Despite wanting to stop right then and there, and tell these feelings to his friend, he let himself be guided down the street, past window displays and people rushing to hurry home, and past empty park benches. They walked for what seemed like quite some time, but when Ludwig finally stopped at a quaint little cottage-like house, Feliciano didn't mind the long walk.

**Back to Ludwig's perspective**

It made sense that this is where Ludwig would've taken his love. This place had always been a place of love, and peace, and warmth to him. He begrudgingly let go of Feli's hand and found a small oil lantern resting on top of the firepace mantel, and turned it on, illuminating the small space in a soft yellow glow.

"It vill be varmer in here. For the picnic." When he turned, he noticed the small man was looking around, not with the look of fear, or disgust, but of happiness and peace. Ludwig had expected for Feli to at least be scared of such a dark and mysterious space, but instead, he seemed... pleased.

"T-this place, it's-a so warm and cozy. How did you know about it Ludwig?" Feliciano turned all around, taking in the small space, dusted with a soft golden glow and the faint light of the sun as it tried to shine through the ominous clouds.

"It vas... somevhere I liked to go vhen I vas younger. Vhen I needed to feel calm. Someone used to live here, but zhis place hasn't been inhabited for years now. Vell, let's get zhe picnic set up." Feliciano appeared to snap out of a trance, and his smile grew even bigger.

"Ve~! Let's-a eat, I'm hungry!"

After consuming their meal, they sat with their backs to the wall, and looked out the small window as the first little raindrops fell from the sky. A wind blew and caused a draft in the cabin, and to Ludwig's pleasure-he was surprised, but pleased nontheless- Feliciano cuddle up against his arm.

"Ludwig, what were you going to tell me?" The golden eyes turned up to peer at Ludwig over his shoulder.

"I vanted to... to say that... vell, I like you." He looked away, not wanting to have to see what Feli was thinking. Vill he understand?

"I like-a you too." Ludwig was about to tell him that he meant more than friends, when he felt two tiny arms wrap around him, and Feli looked him in the eye. No laugh, no smirk, no sign of humor. He was completely serious. He had understood. "I'm-a so glad we came here. It's-a nice in here." And he leaned in and kissed Ludwig. At first, Ludwig wasn't sure this was actually happening. It must be a dream. But, no, it was real. His love actually loved him too, and here they were, in the dim and fading light of an almost empty oil lantern, kissing. He felt that his heart might burst. He pulled Feliciano closer, just wanting to hold him, and that feeling he had when he'd grabbed Feli's hand came back.

**Feliciano on kissing Ludwig**

He hadn't planned to kiss him, but he couldn't stop himself. He couldn't not kiss him. He wanted to feel the warmth and peace that came with being near Ludwig. He breathed in his love's familiar and comforting scent once again. He was wrapped in an instant warmth. Or wait, were those Ludwig's arms? Yes, they were. After ending the kiss- a bit too early for Feli's liking- he snuggled his head in the crook of Ludwig's neck, and placed a kiss there.

"Ti amo, Ludwig"

"Ich liebe dich, Feliciano."