Chapter 01 - Unbelievable Words

Ludwig has never been good with words. He talked when it was necessary and used words mostly for practical purposes, to voice his opinion, to tell others what they should or shouldn't do or to answer questions directed at him. So, living in a world where spoken words played such a big role in people's lives and basically meant everything was a strange concept for him.

He had always believed that actions spoke louder, much louder than words could. He was a man of few words but when he said something he meant it, always thinking carefully before he opened his mouth. He felt more at home when it came to texts, reading and writing have always been his hobbies since he was a child. Well, after he learned to read and write of course, but nonetheless, it was something he had performed often because he felt comfortable with it and that only intensified over the years.

Though, nothing of it changed the fact that the world revolved around these tattooed words everyone had somewhere on their bodies, that were an exact rendition of the first words they would hear from their respective soulmates. Everybody was excited to hear their words someday, be it a simple "Excuse me." or something more unique like "Did you see the dancing monkey over there?" (One of Ludwig's former classmates had these words and eventually met his soulmate in a zoo.)

And the words tattooed on his arm were kind of peculiar, too. He had not words normally spoken when you first meet someone. No, not at all. He had words you only say after you already know the other person for quite some time, words that require some bond already existing. And given his poor record of building relationships so far, he could not think of even one situation where he would impress someone enough to get the response his tattoo predicted: 'I love you'.

Normally, his big and bulky appearance scared others and made them reluctant to talk to him. It was this same exact reason why he only had a few friends during his life so far. And it also made it hard to believe in his tattooed words. It just made no sense to him, so Ludwig guessed it could only mean there was a mistake.

There was some hearsay that the system with soulmates doesn't always work out, stories whispered among each other about those unlucky souls that don't end up with their soulmate. After he heard a story about a girl without any words, Ludwig started to think that, when one mistake like that could happen, it was only logical that other similar occurrences were possible, too. And when he grew up, he kept his ears open for such stories, hearing more and more rumors about others where it never worked out. In the end, he came to the conclusion that maybe, even though he had words, he will never meet someone saying them to him.

With this thought in the back of his mind, Ludwig spent his teenage years in relative solitude. The only constant person in his life was his big brother Gilbert. After their parents died, Gilbert was his only family and took care of him, as he was already of age at the time of the accident and practically raised Ludwig by himself afterwards. Something Ludwig was deeply grateful for.

Gilbert was also the only one he ever told about his conclusion of not having a soulmate, as he never liked to talk about this topic much with anyone else, but his brother never took him seriously. And he never managed to completely withdraw himself from chatter about it in school. His belief of being without a soulmate made comments about his words harder to deal with. Sometimes he was so sick of it all, of other people telling him how sweet his soulmate had to be and how nice it must be to have such loveable words tattooed as others were not as fortunate.

Just like the words his brother had: 'Stop it, you fool!" written right across his right collar bone. Therefore, it came as no surprise for him that Gilbert was the one who teased him the most about it. He kept insisting that Ludwig was wrong about his assumption anyway and loved to think of all kind of crazy scenarios how Ludwig could meet his soulmate, most were of Ludwig saving them in a life-endangering situation.

But somehow he managed to deal with his brother's comments, after a while he got used to them and he managed to completely stop thinking about his tattooed words and the existence, or rather non-existence, of a soulmate and basically everything else related to it. He deemed it best to just ignore it. Whenever someone was curios and asked him about his words he shrugged and tried to ignore them too. When it came to the more persistent ones he simply told them, hoping they wouldn't make a fuss about it and leave him alone once their curiosity was sated.

With this strategy it all went well for quite a long time, until he went to college and the first week of it made him rethink a lot of his previous thoughts. During his creative writing lecture he had on Wednesday, he saw an auburn-haired boy who came too late and therefor attracted the attention of everyone in the room, including him. And when Ludwig first laid eyes on him, his heart skipped a beat and he was kind of mesmerized by the cheerful grin the boy gave while talked to the professor, probably giving some poor excuse to why he was too late for the first lecture.

He never felt like this before when seeing someone the first time which confused him quite a bit. Was it excitement? If so, excitement for what? There was nothing special about the boy on first glance, well, aside from a weird hair curl the other had. Maybe it was just because of the overly cheerful attitude. The boy had the kind of smile that was so infectious it also made others smile involuntary. It was something he never encountered before in this intensity, so maybe it was also the reason for the warm feeling in his chest. He wondered if the other students around him felt the same. Ludwig thought about this weird circumstance for the rest of the lecture. While normally he wasn't the type to slack off during class, he couldn't help but think this new feeling through until he had it all figured out.

After a lot of restless nights where his mind went back to the strange encounter and a few books that dealt with the topic of feelings, the answer eventually came to him a few weeks later. He only ever saw that boy on Wednesdays, during creative writing. Ludwig soon came to anticipate every Wednesday as it was the day of the week he could see the other again with his bubbly attitude and beautiful smile. And it was just another one of these days when it suddenly hit him. When the boy was talking to someone, laughing and smiling again and just radiating happiness, the realization came to his mind. It was attraction. For whatever reason he was attracted to that boy.

Though, it just confused him even more. Was it possible to be attracted to someone who wasn't your soulmate? Because the other couldn't be his as Ludwig already knew him for nearly two months now. But even so, now that he had the epiphany he was pretty sure to know what he was feeling. So, if his words were a mistake then it should be possible for him to feel this way for someone else, shouldn't it? Maybe without a soulmate he was free to like whoever he wanted. Only question left was if the other was in a similar situation concerning his own words. Maybe, just maybe, Ludwig was able to find love in his life.

But his hopeful mood was soon destroyed by his logical mind. What was the probability of that actually happening? He personally never knew someone else with impossible or no words, not that he knew a lot of people, but still. The chance was so very low that it would be most likely near nil. No, it was probably better to keep this attraction to himself and continue to watch the other from afar. He didn't want to cause trouble for the other boy.


His decision began to weaken only a few weeks later. On another Wednesday, when he was already seated in the lecture hall, Ludwig watched the entrance, waiting for the other to arrive like he always did now. By now, the German finally had learned the name of the other. One guy, who was usually with him and looked nearly identical, his brother probably, maybe even twin, was angrily shouting his name loud enough for the whole room to hear. Feliciano. A melodic name, Italian as far as Ludwig could tell. Well, he finally had a name to the ever cheerful face, a face that just came through the doorway, making Ludwig feel the by now familiar warmth in his chest. There was only one difference this time: Feliciano let his eyes wander around the room and stopped at him, giving him one of his smiles the German loved so much. Until the Italian's brother nudged him into the row to their seats.

Every week from then on, Feliciano would scan the rows when he entered the room until their eyes met, smiling at him before he took his seat, always taken him by surprise even when he should be used to it by now. But he wasn't, this whole thing about feelings was too new to him. Never before had he met someone who seemed happy just to see him. And unlike the first time, when he was too surprised, Ludwig actually answered with a smile, however small, on his own.

With every week, the other's smile only continued to grow once he saw Ludwig smiling back, fueling the warm feeling in his chest to rise higher and higher. Until one day, he was not only greeted with a smile but also with a short wave of his hand. Sometimes Feliciano even looked like he wanted to come over to him, only to be stopped by his brother with a yell or an elbow to the side. But Ludwig figured it was better this way. He feared the other would come to realize how boring Ludwig was once they would talk to each other, just like it always happened in his past, and therefore stopping their weekly routine. The radiant smiles and energetic waves in greeting were enough for him, as they never failed to make his day just a bit brighter. But…who was he kidding? It didn't make his day just a bit brighter, no, he greatly anticipated every Wednesday because seeing Feliciano bestowed him with a joy he never knew before.

This whole greeting thing they had going continued Wednesday by Wednesday until the end of the first semester. Ludwig was at a point where he could say for the first time in his life that he was really happy. And all just because of some smiles he got from a little Italian boy. When his studies became pretty stressful, the mere thought of seeing the other again the next Wednesday gave him enough energy to pull through. Just like when he had trouble with the last term paper that he would hand in today. Although the deadline was only next week, he had tried to get it done as soon as possible. What was done was done after all, giving him more consecutive free time for his hobbies.

So after his last lecture for the day, Ludwig went to the third floor where most of the professors' offices where located and handed his paper in. Though, before he left, his literature professor asked him for a small favor. He saw no reason to refuse, as it was a simple delivery task: he just had to bring some documents to a Professor Vargas in the art faculty. It shouldn't take long and he had no other plans until the evening anyway when his brother wanted to go to a bar to celebrate the coming end of Ludwig's first semester. Though, he probably just used it as an excuse to go out and watch today's football game on the big screen of their favorite pub.

When he found the right office he knocked on the door but heard no answer. After knocking for a second time and still receiving no response he checked the handle, only to find the door locked. Weird, the professor should be in, the sign next to his door clearly stated that today was his consultation-hour. Fearing that something may have happened, Ludwig approached one of the nearby students to ask about the missing professor.

"Excuse me. Do you know where Professor Vargas is?"

"Ah, if he's not in his office, he's most likely at his art room. He often has these sudden inspirations for a new painting and then he just leaves."

It was just his luck that today seemed like one of these days. Nevertheless, Ludwig thanked the guy and quickly made his way to the art rooms, he didn't want to spend any more time than necessary to deliver some papers. A professor should be more considerate and stick to his duty. Leaving to paint when he actually had to be present in his office – Ludwig could only shake his head at such an irresponsible behavior.

He finally made it to the right room after having to ask another student which one was considered to be Prof. Vargas' art room. Stepping inside without delay – he just wanted to be done with his task and leave – Ludwig realized that the room was empty, no Professor Vargas in sight. He pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, a long sigh escaping in the process. Of course, it was today of all days that the professor completely vanished without a clue to where. While contemplating what he should do next, he noticed a door in the back of the room. Maybe a storage room for all the art supplies or the paintings? Ludwig figured that there might be the remote chance that the professor was in there, although he doubted it. Surely he would have heard some noises by now if he were. But he couldn't just leave without actually checking it out, so he made his way over, leaving the papers on the nearest desk for the moment.

Once he stepped into the room he saw that his assumptions had been right. Yes, it was a storage room. Yes, there were a lot of paintings in here. But there was something he could have never expected, namely the motives of the paintings that shook him to the core. Slowly going further into the room, Ludwig took in every singly painting with his mouth slightly open, gaping. There was no way he was seeing right. Just why were there painting of him in this room? All of them showed him in various sceneries and postures. It wasn't possible. Who painted these?

Ludwig didn't know how long he stood there, admiring the paintings. Even if he was a bit creeped out by it, he couldn't help but notice the artistic sense of the painter, giving each painting a different feel. He didn't know much about painting itself but he often went to museums and could at least tell that some of these could easily keep up with the exhibits.

He was pulled back to reality when he heard some movement behind him. Turning around, he saw Feliciano standing in the doorway, staring at him with the same disbelieving face that he probably had too. He never saw the cheerful Italian outside of their shared lecture, so it came to a complete surprise to see the other now.

Their eyes were locked on each other, neither saying a word. Ludwig couldn't tell why, but his heart started beating wildly in his chest, more than ever. The whole moment seemed so surreal, with both of them standing so close, surrounded by paintings of him, the atmosphere between them heavy. Still staring at each other, the blonde noticed some change in the eyes of the other, though he couldn't tell what it was.

His heart was finally about to calm down when Feliciano started to speak.

"I love you." the other said, seemingly in a daze as he stared at him. Until he suddenly snapped out of it, a blush rising to his cheeks. "Ve~, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! That must be real weird for you. I mean, you don't even know me and I guess I don't really know you either." He waved his hands in front of him as if dismissing the whole affair, shaking his head in the process.

Ludwig opened his mouth to answer, but this was one of the rare moments in his life where he couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, the other continued.

"But after I first saw you, I just couldn't get you out of my head, so I had to paint you and I guess it kind of went out of hand and I overdid it, but Lovino says I always do that so it's not really a surprise."

The thoughts were running wildly in his head. Feliciano had actually said 'I love you.' to him, the very same words he had on his arm. But it couldn't be… Was it really possible that this guy was his soulmate? Right now, it seemed more than likely. He doubted that a situation like this – where someone's first words to him were a confession of love – will ever happen again in his life. He just had to say the same words that were tattooed on the smaller boy's body.

But...what exactly was he supposed to say now? And what if the said the wrong words? Was there a way to mess this up? This moment could change his life, there was no room for error.

Okay, first things first, he had to get a word in as the other was still going on about who knows what. Ludwig nearly forgot the other was still in the room, too caught up with his own musings. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the auburn-haired boy, praying that a cough wasn't somehow considered to be his first word already. Feliciano stopped his rambling and looked expectantly at him.

"What are your words?"

"Huh?"

"Uhm, the words of your soulmate I mean." He had to know, so he could properly say them.

The Italian slowly blinked a few times, until he suddenly stripped off his shirt, grinning from ear to ear. Then he pointed to the words above his right hipbone. "There!"

The tattoo read 'What are your words?' Ludwig looked back up and met amber eyes sparkling with emotion. "So, it's really you?! I was hoping you would be, but then Lovino convinced me that it couldn't be because I already knew you since the start of the semester."

It was the same that happened to him, only that he didn't need someone else to convince him, he'd done that all by himself. Had they actually managed to avoid each other based on false assumptions? Ludwig thought back: how he had noticed the other during the first lecture. How he had always been intrigued about the Italian's smile, his warm laugh and his sunny attitude that seemed to radiate and make everything around him a bit brighter, but…

"We have never talked to each other."

"Ve~."

Damn, he was so stupid, jumping to conclusions like that. He had dismissed the possibility of the Italian being his soulmate just because he had already noticed the other for some time, while in truth they never said a single word to each other. Somehow he got wound up in thinking the words would be said when they first saw each other. But now that he reflected on it, he didn't even know how he ended up thinking like that. But before he could wail in self-pity, the other interrupted his thoughts again.

"Where is your tattoo? Let me see it! Show me! Show me!" he bounced happily on his two feet.

Ludwig rolled up the sleeve on his left arm, revealing the words on his upper arm to the other. The smaller one immediately brought his hands up and traced them with his fingers, obviously mesmerized by it.

"Hehe, I never would have thought that my first words to my soulmate would be 'I love you.'"

He felt heat rushing to his cheeks as the situation finally caught up with him. He really found his soulmate! Right here, clinging to his arm, shirtless no less, and looking at him with open adoration. The look was so pure and honest that Ludwig couldn't help but think how beautiful the other was. He still couldn't believe it, that it was actually happening. How long had he lived with the conviction that there was something wrong with his words? Well, long enough that he never thought about the sentence he would say to his soulmate.

And god, it was a stupid sentence. He tried to be practical, wanted to know the words first before saying them. So he asked, not realizing that the question would be his first sentence. He just wanted to do everything right, to give the proper response after thinking for years that he won't have a soulmate. Well, in the end he actually did give the right response but… geez, it was embarrassing. But at least the Italian didn't seem to mind, so he was glad about that.

"Feliciano?" A sudden shout was coming from the other room that threw him off for a second. Who-?

"I'm in here nonno. Guess what just happened. You won't believe it, it's soooo amazing!" Feliciano yelled right back, making Ludwig cringe because of the volume.

"Come on, I have to introduce you to my grandpa." Feliciano took him by the hand and started to drag him out of the storage room, only pausing in the doorway to turn back and quickly grasp his discarded shirt, putting it back on. "I nearly forgot it." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh, I don't even know your name. What's your name? I'm Feliciano Vargas."

"I'm Ludwig."

"Ve~, it's nice to finally meet you, Ludwig."


The original End.

This story was planned as an oneshot and, at first, ended at this point. But because I couldn't stop myself from continue writing, it eventually ended up with another chapter. So it can be viewed as a complete story at this point, but if you're interested feel free to read on :)