Title: In Which Feli Gets Sick (yes we know it's boring; DEAL WITH IT!)
Authors: Ofelia (unshakespearean) and Emma (emmabirdy)
Fandom: Hetalia - Axis Powers
Characters: [Germany, Italy] Japan
Rated: T
Warnings: Language, and the need for the phrase "get your mind out of the gutter."
"Feli… Feli, wake up…" As per usual, Feliciano didn't move an inch. "My arm's falling asleep; move…" Nope. Nothing. "OH MY GOD WOULD YOU PLEASE MOVE!"
"Uhhhhhh…"
"Feliciano?"
"Uhhhhhhhhh…"
"Oh, stop moaning and move." Ludwig tried to push the as-usual-reluctant-to-move Italian off of him. "Oh… oh, God, you're sick!" Indeed, the reluctant-to-move Italian was also a clearly sick one. Like, holy-crap-you're-going-to-set-the-freaking-house-on-fire-with-your-fever sick.
"You think?" Ludwig practically laughed at Feli's pathetic attempt at sarcasm. But he managed to keep himself together. He was sick after all. It's not exactly kind to laugh at the sick.
But that pathetic sarcasm…
"Okay, you still have to move. I can't take care of you if you're half on top of me." Ludwig once again tried to move the invalid off of him, although this time taking a great deal more care. Being sick was serious business. Very serious business. Pathetic sarcasm and all. "There we go. Alright. I've never actually… done this before…"
"I'm fine," Feliciano said, pushing himself up a bit. "You have stuff to do. Lots of stuff."
"Yes, stuff that can most definitely wait until tomorrow." Ludwig pushed a very sweaty bit of hair from Feliciano's face.
"Kiku will be annoyed. Very annoyed. Very, very annoyed."
"You're kidding, right? Feli, he's going to have a field day over this. Shut up and let me stay in with you."
"Really?" His little face lit up. "You're really going to stay?"
Ludwig practically melted. This was a regular occurrence. That face. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am going to stay."
"Yay!" Feliciano broke out into his absolutely ecstatic smile, dampened only slightly by the fact that he looked like he'd been hit by a viral monster truck.
Just then, the weird little rectangle thing Kiku had given them buzzed. "I still don't understand what the hell this thing is," Ludwig muttered, and he pressed the little green button.
"Where are you?"
"Feli's sick. Whatever thing we were planning on doing is canceled. Not that I really care. Stop cheering, Kiku." For indeed, Kiku was making the sounds that accompanied his yay Ludwig and Feli are being cute happy dance.
"Right, sorry."
"You could come over and be helpful."
"You have no idea what the hell you're doing, do you?" Ludwig could hear Kiku's smirk. Asshat.
"None whatsoever. Help me." There was no response. "… please?"
"Finally, the whole manners thing is taking effect. Give me fifteen minutes." And the line went dead. Whatever the hell that means.
"Kiku's coming?" Ludwig turned to see yet another one of Feli's ridiculously cute faces. How the little Italian did it would always be one of the world's greatest mysteries.
Ludwig sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, unfortunately. Once again I have to put up with him. Ugh."
"You put up with me," Feliciano pointed out.
"You're special." Ludwig pressed a soft kiss to Feliciano's forehead. "You really are sick… I swear if I get sick too, I will kill you."
"But then I won't be able to make you pasta!" Feliciano argued.
"Fine. I will get very angry."
"I won't make you pasta if you're angry." Feliciano smirked, knowing he'd won. "I love you…" He grinned brightly, knowing that he was driving Ludwig absolutely insane.
Ludwig scowled. Feli was absolutely the most adorable and precious thing in existence, and that was exactly what drove the poor German insane. "And I love you." He sighed, and then he realized something. "Oh my God, you can't be covered up like that!" He whipped the blankets off of the bed.
It was like he had turned on a switch. In an instant Feliciano was sobbing. "It's so cold!" he wailed. "Ludwig, give them back!"
"I can't!" Ludwig exclaimed. "You've got a fever; I need to cool you off."
"Please," Feliciano whispered brokenly. "Ludwig, please…"
"I'm sorry," Ludwig said softly. He lifted the shivering Italian into his lap and began rocking him gently. "I would, but I can't…" Feli continued to cry, the illness reducing him to even more of a child than he already was. "Shhhhh, I've got you, you're going to be okay…" It took every inch of self-control Ludwig possessed to not start crying too, the fact that his sweet little Feliciano was sobbing miserably in his arms because he, Ludwig, wouldn't give him a blanket.
"The entire street can hear you two!" Ludwig turned to see Kiku in the doorway. "I picked the lock, since you wouldn't answer the door."
Ludwig scowled. "You realize that I have much better things to do than to open the door for you?"
"Exactly; that's why I picked the lock." Kiku looked at Ludwig as though this was the most obvious fact in the world. Apparently this was how the guy thought.
Feliciano had quieted at this point, having given up on the prospect of receiving a blanket, his breath wasted from crying. "Kiku?" he asked shakily. "Ludwig, we should really just give him a key…"
"Absolutely not," Ludwig said firmly. "Because I promise you, if we give him a key, there's going to be a camera in our room sending live feeds to Elizabeth and Francis and we won't be able to yell at him for it." He looked over at Kiku for confirmation. Kiku shrugged, trying and failing to keep from laughing.
"I wouldn't necessarily do that exactly," Kiku replied. "I mean, Antonio and Gilbert would have to see it too."
"Okay, definitely no key then," Feliciano confirmed. Ludwig kissed his hair. "What?"
"You're so clever," Ludwig grinned as he kissed Feliciano properly. "Well, eventually."
"Someday I'm not going to like it when you insult me," Feliciano whined.
"Please. And Alfred's going to become smart one day." Ludwig rolled his eyes. "You're always going to love it."
"But-" Feliciano was about to retort, but he was quite successfully cut off by Ludwig's smushing their lips together. This technique worked every single time. Without fail.
"You love it," Ludwig whispered as he pulled away. "You love it, and I love you."
"You're going to get sick if you keep kissing him." Kiku's horrifically annoying reality check killed the moment.
"Yes, and then you're going to pick the lock and be helpful. Glad we cleared that up." Ludwig looked down at Feliciano and shot him a wink.
"You're really good at getting Kiku to shut up," Feliciano praised, his eyes completely full of adoration for the blond German who was currently cuddling him against his chest. "I love you, Ludwig…" It was common practice for Feliciano to just blurt this out randomly.
"I love you more, Feli," Ludwig replied, kissing his hair again. Kiku sighed and decided to be productive, going to the kitchen to make soup. As much as he wanted to watch the action, he realized he'd be far more successful by activating the hidden camera on Ludwig's cell phone and watching while he cooked. This would be fun.
"You really need to get some sleep," Ludwig said gently, lifting Feliciano off of his lap and laying him gently in the bed. Feliciano opened his mouth to protest, but Ludwig gently pressed a finger to his lips. "Shhhh, go to sleep."
"Please, can I have a blanket?" Feliciano begged. "I'm so cold…" Ludwig shook his head sadly, hugging him close.
"You have to go to sleep, Feli," Ludwig repeated. "Can you do that for me?" Feliciano nodded. "You can have a sheet, okay?" He pulled a sheet out from the mess of covers on the ground and carefully draped it over Feliciano's shivering body. "I know you're tired," he teased. "Go to sleep." He pressed another soft kiss into Feliciano's hair and watched as the sleepy Italian zonked out. He could practically count from three to one and time it perfectly.
"Sweet dreams," he whispered, and he went to go find Kiku. He'd seen that weird little green light on his rectangle-thing before. It tended to be followed by hell from Elizabeth and company. Whatever that light was, Kiku had something to do with it.
"Damn it," Kiku muttered as Ludwig entered the kitchen, phone in his hand. "I really need to make that hidden camera… hidden."
"Or you could just stop filming us!" Ludwig retorted. "I swear I'm going to destroy this thing one day… and of course you have a hundred other ways to film us."
"Oh, come on, it's not like you mind it," Kiku muttered. "Anyway, I was making soup. It's finished; I can just leave the burner on to keep it warm."
"Smells good," Ludwig sighed. He hated admitting when Kiku did something worth praising. It wasn't that Kiku bragged; it was just that goddamn smirk that was now lighting up his face. "Anyway, he's asleep; he should be fine. Let's go; I have some ideas that I want to run by you."
Unfortunately, Feliciano was not fine, for he was caught in the throes of a nightmare.
It started out as a good dream. He and Ludwig were cuddling under a tree. It was spring or maybe summer, and it was just fine and quiet. They kissed, and then suddenly Ludwig pushed him away.
"Ludwig?" he asked. Ludwig said nothing, instead turning and walking away. "Ludwig, where are you going?" He ran to follow Ludwig, but Ludwig wouldn't look at him or talk to him. It was as though he had suddenly stopped existing. "Ludwig… please come back… why are you going? Come back, please! Please come back!" But he wouldn't. He kept walking. And suddenly it was cold, snow coming down in heaves, and Feliciano couldn't see a thing. "Ludwig!" he shouted. But all he could hear was the wind. He sank down into the snow and cried, wishing he could just freeze to death. And then all of a sudden it was warm again, and he was lying safely in Ludwig's arms, and they kissed, and then he left again, and it happened over and over and over, and finally he was left in the cold. He waited to wake up, to have the horrible dream to be over for a few moments before it returned, but this time it didn't come. He was alone, and it just wouldn't end.
"Ludwig," he sobbed, hoping that he was out there, that he'd come back for him, but nobody was there. He called louder, louder, kept screaming until his voice was tired, and then kept screaming. His throat stung with the cold and from screaming, and soon he gave up, gave into the cold. He wanted to die. He wanted desperately for it to end, but it didn't. All there was was the cold and the wind and the snow.
And then suddenly he was being shaken awake, and his eyes flew open to see Ludwig, grabbing him up and snuggling him close and kissing him.
"Ludwig?" He was shocked. Hadn't he just been left in the cold?
"Oh, Feli, I'm so sorry," Ludwig said sadly. "I shouldn't have left you."
"Why did you?" Feliciano sobbed. "It was so cold, and it was snowing, and you wouldn't come back! I kept calling…"
"Is that what happened? Oh, God, it's worse than I thought…" Ludwig felt tears coming as he made a silent vow not to leave Feliciano's side for more than a minute until he recovered. "You were asleep, Feli; it was just a nightmare, but I had no idea it was that awful."
"A-a nightmare?" Could it be true? Had he only been dreaming that Ludwig had left him?
"I'd never leave you for real," Ludwig said softly. "So it had to have been a nightmare."
Logical enough. Feliciano sighed and wrapped his arms tightly around Ludwig's waist, squeezing as close as he possibly could. "I was scared," he whispered. "I was so, so scared…"
"I know." Ludwig's voice was inches away from breaking. "I know, Feli, I know, but it's over. It's over, and I'm here, and I'm never going to leave. I promise."
"Unless he has to pee." Once again Kiku decided to ruin the moment. "Unless you're planning on-"
"You wish." Ludwig rolled his eyes, knowing exactly where Kiku was going. "Get your mind out of the gutter."
Kiku pouted and whined, "But it's nice in there."
"I so didn't need to hear that," Ludwig muttered, and turned his attention back where it belonged - to Feliciano, who was weakly laughing at this all-too-typical exchange. "If it weren't for the fact that Kiku's really rather helpful, I'd break his neck. Speaking of helpful, he made soup. Do you want some?"
"It has noodles in it," Kiku supplied.
"Pasta!" Feliciano grinned broadly. "Paaaaaaastaaaaaaaa!"
"Great, now he's hyper," Ludwig sighed. "Thanks, Kiku."
"Not a problem, Ludwig-san." And then Kiku did something unthinkable.
"Did you just stick your tongue out at me?!"
"Maybe," Kiku shrugged, and he fled from the room to the safety of the kitchen, counting on Ludwig's regretting having left Feliciano to keep him safe from the now very miffed German.
"That was reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaally good," Feliciano said contentedly after having finished his third bowl of soup. Well, third bowl of the noodles in the soup.
"The point is to drink the broth," Kiku explained for the third time. "That's where all the-oh whatever." For Ludwig had just glared at him, clearly saying Stop ruining his fun.
"I think we're all set," Ludwig said. "Bye, Kiku."
"But-" Kiku searched wildly for a reason to stay, and eventually came up with, "But the camera only works within fifty feet!" And then he realized what he had said.
"My point exactly," Ludwig grinned. "Bye, Kiku."
Kiku scowled and left the room. "I still have plenty of video!" he shouted as he left.
"Oh, really?" Ludwig whispered. He picked up the rectangle thing and pressed a button.
ALL VIDEO DELETED.
"I HATE YOU!" Kiku shouted.
"Love you too," Ludwig called back.
"Hey!" Feliciano whined from next to him.
"You know what I mean," Ludwig whispered, kissing Feliciano. "Kiku, I'm going to count to five, and if you're not out the door, I am going to pick Feli up and carry him to the front door, where I will personally kick your ass from here to the moon!"
"I give up," Kiku muttered, and he left, slamming the door as he went, a final mini-victory against Ludwig, who hated having the door slammed.
"Finally," Ludwig exclaimed slightly overdramatically. "I'd say peace and quiet, but…" He kissed Feliciano's nose. "You're neither peaceful nor quiet. And I love it."
"Love you too," Feliciano grinned lazily as he snuggled closer to Ludwig.
"Move a bit," Ludwig teased, gently pushing Feliciano off of him. "I want to lie down too." He settled in as quickly as he could, pulling Feliciano into his arms the minute the majority of his spine was on the bed. "Happy?"
"Yeah," Feliciano replied, his voice muffled by the fact that his face was buried in Ludwig's chest.
"Feeling better?" Ludwig felt Feliciano's forehead, and noticed that it was a good deal cooler. "I think you can have a blanket now, if you want." The resulting squeal of excitement made Ludwig laugh heartily. He loved that little squeal. He loved the little Italian who was squealing.
Feliciano sighed in relief as Ludwig pulled the warm blanket over his head, and then sighed again as Ludwig began stroking his hair. It was possibly his favorite thing in the world, the feeling of Ludwig's fingers. And then Ludwig kissed him again. Scratch that. That was his favorite thing in the world. Or was it when Ludwig laughed? Or smiled? Or…
"Three," Ludwig whispered, and, right on cue, Feliciano was sound asleep in his arms. "You never fail me, Feli. Never."
Kiku laughed as he sent the entire day's video, including the footage he took after having "stormed out in defeat," to Elizabeth, Francis, Gilbert, Antonio, and all of his friends on Facebook. Thank god for iCloud.
Hey everyone! Here's In Which Feli Gets Sick! Remember to read, review, favorite, and follow!
Love and ducks to Lone Shippers, etc!
Ofelia