I would appreciate if you weren't too hard on me; this is my first submitted fanfic. May or may not wind up as a multi-chapter story depending on the response I get.
Disclaimer: Hidekaz Himaruya created Hetalia. I do not own or make profit off of it.
Summary: It wasn't the first time Ludwig awoke to find a familiar Italian cuddled into his side. / Feliciano has a nightmare and Ludwig is left with the task of trying to console him.
This wasn't the first time Ludwig had awoken at some odd hour of the night and found, to his frustration, that there was a familiar brunette huddled into his side. In fact, this had become a rather common occurrence.
The first time this had happened, however, the usually composed and stoic blonde had very nearly thrown Feliciano out of his bed in embarrassment and indignation. But it seemed no matter what he did, he was unable to prevent the bubbly Italian from sneaking his way into the bed, and falling asleep next to him.
As time passed, this event repeated itself, and Ludwig would even dare to say he'd become accustomed to it, however awkward it may be.
…Not aloud, of course.
So now, he was staring through the darkness at the peacefully slumbering form that was Feliciano. The brunette shifted closer to Ludwig in his sleep, clutching at him and pushing his face into his toned shoulder.
If the little Italian had been awake, Ludwig might have objected and shoved him away. But Feliciano was sound asleep, so he would allow it.
The blonde did, indeed, harbor some sort of deep lo-… fondness for his carefree ally, which he denied at every chance he could. Hell, he'd even lied to himself until recently. But the few, infrequent times Ludwig actually tried to express himself, something would go amiss, or his pride would prevent him from carrying out his original intentions.
And after the Valentine's Day incident, he was forced into the reality that the little Italian only thought of him as a friend.
He exhaled calmly, and leant over to press a gentle, quick kiss to his comrade's forehead. But just before his lips made contact with the Italian's skin, his attention was diverted by a small, breathy noise.
Feliciano stirred faintly, and let out a whimper.
Ludwig felt something small and wet trickle onto his shoulder, and he froze. Water?
When the brunette's little, pitiful noises escalated into quiet sobs, Ludwig pulled his face away and made an effort to scrutinize the shaking Italian's features through the darkness.
It appeared that his comrade was crying in his sleep. The blonde felt his heart clench; a foreign and uncomfortable sensation.
Before Ludwig could extend a tentative hand to wake him up, Feliciano startled awake, and promptly bolted upright, eyes wide. The blonde sat up with a low grunt, and flicked on the bedside lamp.
Now that he could observe the scene before him clearly, the German sighed. Sobs shook Feliciano's slight frame, and his hands flung up to his face, desperately trying to rub away the tears that were now steadily descending down his flushed cheeks.
"Ita-"
"G-Ger… Germany!" He wailed, suddenly aware of the confused man next to him. The brunette clumsily moved to sit on Ludwig, straddling his thighs and leaning into him.
"What's wro- g-get off!" At this, the brunette just cried harder, clinging to Ludwig and burying his face in the blonde's nightshirt. "Italy! Tell me what's wrong!" He snapped; a little more harshly than he'd meant to. He had never been good at providing comfort, even when he wanted to.
Clutch tightening, Feliciano took another shaky breath, shuddering against Ludwig's toned chest. "…G-Germany, please… D-d… Don't leave me…" The smaller of the two muttered weakly between sobs, glancing up at him with a despairing look in his chocolate-brown eyes.
"…what?"
"D-don't leave me!" Feliciano repeated desperately, more tears welling in his eyes. "Don't… p-please don't leave and n-never come back!" With another miserable sob, he lowered his red face again and leaned into the blonde's chest, shoulders heaving with uneven breaths.
"C-calm down! I won't!" Despite the feeling Ludwig tried to put into his quick shout of a response, he got the sense that Feliciano wasn't really listening. "Italy, listen to me!"
When the Italian in question continued to weep into Ludwig's shirt, his frown intensified. Hesitantly, he seized the individual curl and gave a gentle tug. For some odd reason the German would most probably never understand, that always caught Feliciano's attention.
After a sharp gasp, the brunette struggled to stifle his sobs, and looked up questioningly.
"Feliciano, listen to me, okay?" He gave another tug, causing the smaller nation to shudder and momentarily lid his eyes. The brunette promptly nodded, fearing another pull to his oddly sensitive curl. "I will not leave you. We made a pact, remember?" Ludwig paused, staring into Feliciano's tear-filled eyes. "So… calm down!"
He released the curl, to the smaller nation's immediate relief. "…Y-you promise? No matter what?" Feliciano sniffled. In response, the German gave a stiff nod and silently willed away the heat rising in his cheeks.
"S-see… I had this dream and you went away to fight… a-and…" He trailed off, wiping away a stray tear. "Germany got hurt really bad… and n-never came back." Feliciano bit his lip, trying to prevent another fit of sobs. "I don't ever want to lose Germany." He still remembered the days he'd spent as a maid at Austria's house; with a certain blonde boy whom he held a profound affection for.
The day he watched Holy Roman Empire walk away had been difficult- and the months, and eventually years without him even more so- but the worst was once the news of their loss reached him. The pain had been unbearable. He never wanted to lose anyone again.
Feliciano was torn from his thoughts when the German sighed. "I told you, I won't let that happen." He smiled weakly at the protective tone in Ludwig's voice.
A few moments of calm silence passed between the two. The usually-cheery Italian was trying to calm himself down and regain his typical exuberance, while Ludwig waited for him to recover enough that he could get him to move.
Now relatively pacified, Feliciano leaned forward to rest his chin on the blonde's shoulder. "Ger-ma-nyyy, I want a hug." He whined, a playful quality back in his voice. A little, mildly amused smile played on Ludwig's lips, and he obliged. The brunette snuggled into him appreciatively.
Despite his unfamiliarity with bestowing an act of affection, he couldn't deny that it felt nice to hold the little fool against his chest. Feliciano was soft and warm. And his lips- whenever he stole a glance at them- appeared equally soft and pliant; so tauntingly kissable…
Ludwig mentally kicked himself for having such thoughts, and shook it from his mind. Reluctantly, he unwrapped his arms from the brunette's slim form. "Okay, you had your hug. Now get off and go back to sleep." The smile slipped from his face and the usual stern expression took its place.
"Grazie, Ludwig." With a gentle smile, Feliciano leaned in to quickly press his soft lips to Ludwig's cheek, before climbing off of him and back under the warm covers. The blonde blushed involuntarily.
He reached over to turn off the lamp with a soft grunt.
Just before he let darkness flood the room once again, however, he glanced back at the brunette. It seemed the little Italian had already fallen back asleep.
Ludwig smiled to himself, and flicked off the light.
"Träum was schönes."
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Grazie- thanks
Träum was schönes- dream something nice; a sort of equivalent to 'sweet dreams'
