It all began with a single, simple word. 'Yes,' spoken only twice that night. He saw that tall blonde, and he saw him. His darker haired brother whispered to him, "Don't even think about it, Feliciano. Didn't you learn last time?"
"Yes." Feliciano replied quietly. He looked away from that man, the blonde that reminded him a little too much of him. Maybe that was why a part of Feliciano wanted desperately to know who that man was, and the other part said "No, Feliciano, it won't end well. Can't you see? Listen to your brother."
But Feliciano never did listen well. Shortly after, Lovino had walked away to talk to Antonio -a friend of his, if not more-, but keeping his eye on his younger brother, no doubt. Feliciano gave him time to down a few drinks, waiting until his older brother's mind had wandered from watching over him.
Occasionally stealing glances at the blonde, he saw that a shorter pale-haired man had accompanied him. Judging by the shorter's behavior, they were close. A friend, Feliciano guessed. Feliciano noticed that the blonde didn't talk much. He rarely smiled, but that could easily be fixed, Feliciano thought. Looking in his brother's direction, he saw to his relief and amusement that he may had given Lovino too much time to get drunk. That was okay, the more, the better. The less he would notice.
Feliciano walked in the blonde's direction, seeing an empty chair next to the man's friend. "Edelstein! Aw, come back! I didn't mean it...!" The pale-haired one called to the man of which who appeared to be walking away in annoyance. Edelstein. That rung in Feliciano's head for a moment, trying to place just where he knew that name. He stopped for a second, until the answer arose in his brain. His babysitter. Yes, the terrible Roderich Edelstein. Four-eyes, also known as The World's Worst Caretaker. Feliciano laughed a little at that, continuing to make his way over. He greeted both the pale-haired man and the blonde, to which the shorter one happily greeted him back, seeming very happy at Feliciano's presence. The blonde merely mumbled something, giving a small wave of his hand.
As Feliciano conversed with the lighter-haired man, he was exposed the information that this man was the blonde's brother, Gilbert. He also now knew that the blonde's name was Ludwig. Gilbert explained practically his life story to the Italian, but practically all Feliciano could think about was that mysterious German, barely at all about the "Prussian." Making sure that he looked like he was paying attention to Gilbert, he continued to sneak looks at Gilbert's younger brother.
"So I told him, 'Rod, you need to loosen up,' and his wifey over here-" Gilbert babbled on, interrupting himself to point indiscreetly at a young woman with long brown hair, "Said 'Fuck off, Gilbert,' lookin' real-" Gilbert interrupted himself yet again to look over at Feliciano. "You aren't listening, are you?" He asked, not seeming offended at all, as if it may be normal for people to stop listening to his ramblings.
"Hm? Oh, no, I'm listening!" Feliciano lied, blinking his eyes fast, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Alright, excuse me, boys, I've got to handle something." Gilbert said, eyeing that brown-haired woman as she glared at him, the look of anger, moving her hand as to say 'Come here right now, you dirty bastard.' Gilbert stood up, patting Ludwig's shoulder, "C'mon, say something, would ya? I'll be back soon, don't be shy." He encouraged. Ludwig sighed, looking a little bit annoyed. Was he blushing? He cleared his throat, looking over at the Italian.
"Uh," He began, signaling the Italian to please say something so it's not so awkward over here.
"Feliciano." He introduced himself. "I..um, I already know who you are, your brother told me." Feliciano said, smiling. Ludwig nodded. After a short silence, it was obvious that it was Ludwig's turn to say something.
"So, you guys really get along, huh?" Ludwig asked, referring to Feliciano and his brother.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Nice guy. Y' lucky to have someone who's not so bent out of shape all the time." Feliciano joked, looking briefly over at his own brother. "Don't get me wrong, I love him to death, but I think you know how brothers can get sometimes." He quickly added. Ludwig let out a huff that could resemble a short laugh, smirking a little. "Yeah, no joke." He replied. "He can be a real idiot sometimes, but he always comes around." Ludwig said. Feliciano scooted over into Gilbert's seat.
"Gilbert said you were German, right?" Feliciano asked, trying to spark up small talk. Talking with this one was like trying to light a fire with wet wood.
"Yes, what of it?" Ludwig inquired.
"Oh, nothing, it just interested me that you were German, and he was Prussian." Feliciano answered. Ludwig lightly scoffed.
"Blame it on his pride." He mumbled, staring absent-mindedly into his beer mug.
"I understand, my brother insists on being called southern Italian." Feliciano said.
"'That so?" Ludwig asked.
"Mm, yeah, see, he was raised in south Italy, I was raised in the north. We weren't very close as kids. Long distance is hard on relationships, I guess." Feliciano explained.
"I don't remember much of my childhood, myself." Ludwig said, drinking the last of his beer. Feliciano frowned, wondering how that could be. "I hear enough about it from Roderich and Gilbert anyway, so I guess there's no big loss." Ludwig explained. There was about a minute-long silence that they both endured, Feliciano's brother's words echoing in his mind, Didn't you learn last time?, until Gilbert came back with a new bloodied nose. "That girl'll punch the shit out 'a 'ya." He panted, laughing to himself, stumbling into the empty seat next to Feliciano. "So, you boys enjoying yourselves?" Gilbert asked, wiping his nose.
"'Time of my life." Ludwig muttered.
"Oh, come on, lighten up, would 'ya?" Gilbert said back, smiling over at his brother.
"I've heard that from at least three people tonight." Ludwig commented.
"Maybe you should listen to 'em sometime, eh?" Gilbert advised, sarcasm thick in his voice.
"I will try, Bruder." Ludwig retorted.
"Good, a good attitude'll steal anyone's heart, remember that." Gilbert said with a wink, nodding over at the Italian slightly. Ludwig blushed a little at his brother's words. Gilbert leaned down to whisper in his brother's ear, "He's a keeper, Lud." Ludwig's face burned brighter than it had been already. *Gilbert slapped Ludwig's back playfully, walking off again, waving over at a long-haired blonde.
Still blushing slightly, Ludwig let out a small cough, capturing the Italian's attention again. Feliciano smiled over at Ludwig. Feliciano quickly glanced over at the other end of the bar, spotting his brother looking around, probably for him. Feliciano stood up from his seat, looking into Ludwig's eyes.
"I've had a great time tonight with the both of you. It seems my brother is about ready to leave, so I have to excuse mysel-" Feliciano stopped himself, looking into Ludwig's eyes again, seeing trouble and disappointment. "I'll leave you my phone number, yeah?" Feliciano offered. Ludwig nodded, blushing subtly.
"I-I'd like that." Ludwig answered. Feliciano quickly scribbled his number onto a napkin, glancing again anxiously at his brother, who seemed to be getting quite impatient. Ludwig looked up at Feliciano, accepting his farewell. He smiled faintly, as he watched Feliciano's figure leave the bar with his brother.
Gilbert returned not long after, seeming a little disappointed as well, noting the Italian's absence.
"Where'd he go?" he questioned.
"Left with his brother." Ludwig replied. Gilbert hummed.
"'Ya get 'is number?" Gilbert asked.
"Of course I did." Ludwig confessed.
"Nn, that's my boy!" Gilbert exclaimed, slapping his brother's back once more. Ludwig rolled his eyes, stuffing the napkin in his pocket.
"Cute one, wasn't he?" Gilbert continued.
"Alright, let's get you home, Gilbert." Ludwig grumbled.
"But the night has only just-"
"No buts, come on. Drank all my beer, let's get out of here."
"...Fine." Gilbert agreed.
To be continued...