It was just another sunny day, like all sunny days that Ludwig would dedicate for sightseeing in the nearby villages. He dressed himself in his favourite crimson jacket, rest his beige tweed cap over his well-groomed hair, put on the matching gloves, trusted the most up-to-date sheet of newspaper under his armpit and left the house.
How lucky was he, to have picked this route to travel by; at some point during his trip he came across a beautiful field of roses, growing by the bank of the river the village must have been named after, all in such hectic shades of the most thrilling colour of them all- red. Ludwig stood there, taking the glorious sight in. This was certainly a spot to return to.
At last, Ludwig reached the new village he intended to explore. He walked around, quietly, making sure not to draw too much attention to himself. The newspaper was still shoved under his armpit, he hadn't read it yet, but once he found someplace to sit he would surely do. One was bound to keep track of current events, and what better way was there do to so other than use the exceptional invention of printed paper?
He noticed a rather small café that seemed to be to his liking, and decided to take a short break there.
Ludwig sipped from his coffee as he read the newspaper, heaving a sigh upon noticing one of the more disconcerting articles on the first page. Another young man was murdered, the report being published a week after the deed was done. It's the third these two months. All three had the same colour of hair and eyes and had scarlet lips, were moderately handsome, and most importantly- had a rose matching the colour of their lips resting horizontally between their teeth. "Meaning, the killer had a type," Ludwig read the article himself, shaking his head ever so slightly.
People have also told the police they noticed a shady figure roaming the area before the murders took place. No fingerprints were found at the scene, and no murder weapon, which appeared to be a blunt object in all three cases. Ludwig massaged his temples, an agitated expression on his face. He took another sip from his comforting cup of coffee before being interrupted by a person who seemed to be a beggar.
"B-Buongiorno, signore! Would you please be kind enough to spare me some change?" The other asked, his voice as miserable as could be.
Ludwig looked up to him, and for a moment, he was sure he lost his ability to breathe. "G-Guten tag," he said, stuttering, "I... Y-You... Change? I-I Uh..."
The man in front of him was beautiful. The epitome of beautiful, in his eyes. He's already met many men like him, but this man truly was beautiful. A simple white shirt of a cheap fabric was covering his chest, and the trousers he had worn were rather dirty and torn at their end, but it only added to the enchantment the brunet beggar casted over Ludwig. It made him appear so pure and innocent.
Even his seemingly forced smile was so charming to Ludwig.
Ludwig could only emit incomprehensible syllables at this point, and his cheeks grew a bold shade of crimson that matched his jacket.
"S-Signore...? U-Uh, sir...? Are you alright...?" The young man kept asking but upon receiving no proper response, he changed his inquiry. "S-Should I leave you alone, perhaps...?"
"N-No!" Ludwig called, swiftly gripping the other's wrist. He soon noticed what he had done, and let go with the most embarrassed expression he could muster. "F-Forgive me, mister," he apologized for his instinctive reaction. "Was it change that you were after? U-Uh, I will check if I have any left."
He poked around his pocket before fishing out a bill of a large amount of money. The grateful, and frankly adorable expression on the beggar's face was definitely worth the expenditure.
Ludwig cleared his throat. "S-Say, uh, mister..."
"Vargas," the man in front of him soon replied, "But you can just call me Feliciano, if you'd like!"
"Mister Vargas," Ludwig once again talked, "would you care to join me for a cup of coffee...? P-Please...?"
A small gasp left the beggar's mouth.
"I'd be glad to accept such a treat, especially from you! Oh, grazie mille, kind sir!"
By the time Ludwig had finished his own cup of coffee, the other man's, Feliciano's, had arrived. But it didn't matter to Ludwig at all. It was strangely satisfying to spend time with this so pleasing-to-look-at man, he was truly a feast to the eye. His smiles were so delicately perfect, and his amber eyes were still shining whenever the man glanced at the bill Ludwig had handed to him. His lips seemed so inviting, their redness so awfully mesmerising…
His gut twisted, telling him how wrong it was for him to feel this way for a man. He really shouldn't have had invited him for a cup of coffee- he's done so several times and they all ended badly.
But Ludwig really had a different feeling about this one...
Especially thanks to how deeply-coloured he made the German's cheeks become.
He made sure to hide the newspaper inside his jacket; he certainly didn't want the young man to become startled by those terrible murders that have occurred.
"I never really got your name, sir," Mister Vargas, or, Feliciano mentioned. He had such a strange ability to converse without even being aware of the other's name or any other detail about them. Ludwig was impressed.
"I'm Ludwig. I-I mean Mr. Beilschmidt. Ludwig Beilschmidt, b-but I wouldn't be bothered if you just called me Ludwig, I-I presume..."
Ludwig sighed at his own shamefully mumbled reply.
"Well, Luddy, I had a great time speaking with you, and I really am grateful for this cup of coffee, but I must go and gather some more money. I apologise if this comes off as rude in any way, but I still haven't reached my daily amount, though you helped shortening my labour by much!" He said. He spoke so fast, Ludwig barely noticed he gave him a new nickname, and certainly didn't have time to question it since Feliciano got up with the intentions of leaving the café too shortly after.
"Wait, Mr. Vargas, w-where will I be able to find you?!" He called after him.
"Meet me at this café tomorrow! And please, call me Feliciano!" The other answered, leaving the store once he waved Ludwig goodbye.
Ludwig just laid back in his chair, once again massaging his temples.
The sun had set quite a long time ago, and the air was comfortably chilly, and it was soon time for Ludwig to leave the village and start his travel back home. After quite an interesting day in the village, where he met an interesting person, he was ready to return to his cosy home and make the night pass faster so that his next meeting with Feliciano would arrive faster. Such a beautiful, beautiful man…
Ludwig slapped himself. He had to snap out of it! It never ended well once he had begun with it all, and he shouldn't be having these emotions while being a man himself...!
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm himself down, but flinched when he heard a yelp and the sound of someone being knocked to the floor.
Did that sound come from that café...?
A shady man just rushed out of it. He seemed to be running away…
Ludwig hurried inside, and without thinking, hugged Feliciano to his chest. The Italian was trembling violently, had bruises all over his face and arms, and change was scattered all over the floor.
"I'm so sorry, Mister Vargas... I am so, so sorry this had to happen to you..."
He wanted Feliciano to stop shaking! The man seemed so utterly terrified! No man as beautiful as him should ever be put through such a terrible experience...!
To his dismay, Feliciano hugged him back...
...Feliciano felt so good to hug...
He made sure to wipe away every trace of tears on the other man's fragile face, and was so relieved when the other finally ceased to shiver.
"H-He took the bill you had given me, too... And for that I'm terribly remorseful..." Feliciano replied, and Ludwig was so delighted in how the other clutched onto his back, held the jacket's fabric as though his life depended on it. He shouldn't feel so joyful for it! He mustn't! What a disgusting man you are, Ludwig, enjoying a hug from another man like that!
Feliciano asked a question in a frightened voice. "Will you be here tomorrow...?"
"Yes," he assures him, despite how unpleasantly his stomach turned to the sound of that, "yes I will."
"And please," he whispered, and his voice made the German's heart melt, "call me Feliciano..."
Feliciano was sat on the stoop in front of the café. Yes, the owners have told him to "scram" if he wasn't going to order anything a couple of times, but Feliciano couldn't care less. That man, Ludwig, had promised to show up again today, and Feliciano really couldn't wait until he saw him again!
Last night Ludwig had given him back the amount of money that was stolen from him! And the way he held him against his chest, and how warm he was, and how safe his arms around his frame felt…
Feliciano bit his lip, choosing to put these worrisome thoughts aside for the time being. Right now, he had a very handsome man to wait for! A generous man, who didn't seem to become weary of Feliciano's garrulous self, and perhaps even genuinely fancied spending time with him!
Of course his older brother warned him of talking and taking offers from strangers, but no man like Ludwig could ever do any harm to him. Feliciano trusted his judgment, and it had never failed him before.
And his brother was long gone…
A few minutes later, he finally noticed the German's red jacket. He actually tried to match him this time, and wore a pair of maroon trousers that hadn't been that terribly torn yet, which used to belong to his brother.
He stood and began waving at the distant figure. "Ciao! Luddy! I'm over here!"
He assumed Ludwig liked the new nickname, since he didn't complain about him using it. Not that he had gotten to use it that much…
When Ludwig arrived, Feliciano gave him the most enthusiastic of embraces, eager to feel safe in the other's arms once more.
"G-Guten Morgen, Mr., uh- Feliciano," Ludwig mumbled a greeting, and Feliciano's heart skipped a beat. Why did it excite Feliciano so much when Ludwig pronounced his name?
"Buongiorno, bello!" Feliciano gave a greeting of his own and giggled. When Ludwig asked what the word meant, Feliciano simply replied "handsome or beautiful", at which Ludwig's cheeks became so flustered that even his ears were tinted with red. "Why aren't you wearing your hat today?" Feliciano inquired with a tilt of his head.
"...I guess I was in such a rush to see you again that I forgot it..."
Feliciano's smile has never been brighter.
"S-Say," Ludwig began to ask, "how about you... u-uh..."
"How about I what..?" Feliciano asked, leaning slightly closer to the German, who unfortunately decided to avert his enchanting eyes away from him.
"...I considered maybe, erm, asking you to, uh..." He cleared his throat and glimpsed at the Italian, "I-I know I'm taking this whole thing terribly fast but uh…"
He took a deep breath. His face shrunk for several seconds, looking as if he'd put something sour in his mouth, before he opened his eyes and gazed at Feliciano.
"If I asked you to come live with me in my apartment in the city for a while, would you agree...?"
Feliciano gasped.
For a short amount of time, that was all he could do.
Was Ludwig really offering to rescue him from his sorrowful life as a beggar, and instead live a respectful, and perhaps quite boastful life in the city?!
"L-Luddy," he asked in a tone heavy with astonishment, "are you sure about this...? Do you really want someone like me to live in a place like that...? With a man as generous and kind-hearted as yourself? I don't think I deserve to live like that..."
"N-Nonsense. Spending time with you will lack disinterest the most," Ludwig explained, looking Feliciano straight in the eye in a way that made Feliciano feel secure. He really did trust Ludwig, and would definitely enjoy sharing accommodation with him…
Feliciano nodded ever so candidly to indicate how passionate he was about the matter. "Y-Yes, I would be happy to live with you for a while..."
"Oh, I-I almost forgot," Ludwig exclaimed, and began to search the inner pockets of his fancy jacket thoroughly before taking out a single, red rose, and handing it to Feliciano. "I-I picked it on my way here. It reminded me..." He lingered a moment, and to Feliciano, he seemed to be in some kind of an inner conflict. "...It reminded me o-of your beautiful lips..."
Now it was Feliciano's turn to turn red, and his heart was beating so loudly he was afraid Ludwig would hear it.
This was bad. Really bad.
He shouldn't be feeling these emotions...!
But Feliciano really couldn't mind it when they were for a man such as Ludwig…
"Do you know where I got it from...?" Ludwig took Feliciano by surprise when he asked that.
Feliciano's response was a shake of his head.
"...Tomorrow, before we leave, I will take you there. Where the wild roses grow."
Feliciano had been rewinding the entire morning in his head, over and over again, trying to relive each and every moment of enthusiasm he and Ludwig had shared.
He lay in his rented inn bed, which Ludwig once again funded.
He listened to his imagined Ludwig asking the same question again and again.
"If I show you the roses, will you follow...?"
They met in front of the café that morning. They had no time for any small talks, or any cups of coffee, or any begging or wandering.
They were going to visit the place where the wild roses grow.
"Wow.…
With a hand over his mouth, Feliciano observed even the smallest of details in the grand beauty that was that certain river bank. Ludwig and him were holding hands, albeit how uneasy Feliciano noticed it made Ludwig feel. When he asked him about it, all he did was tighten his hold of Feliciano's hand.
What a shame it was, that Ludwig was wearing those gloves…
Though the air was chilly, and the sky wasn't as bright as it had been for the past couple of days.
Feliciano decided to let it go, and just enjoy the small gesture instead.
Maybe rain was coming, Feliciano thought to himself.
He stepped closer to the water, as did Ludwig, and ducked down to smell one of the so many red roses that grew by the river.
"They smell wonderful, Luddy. I'm glad these made you think about me..." He confessed, smiling a bashful smile at the man that held his hand so surely, before standing back up.
He was swinging from foot to foot, looking to their held hands, then to the roses to their feet, then to the water and how calmly it streamed, then back up at Ludwig, gaping to his eyes, and his lips…
It sounded like Ludwig started to pant. Was he that nervous...? They were holding hands, and the other might've been inexperienced
His forehead was all sweaty, too…
"Luddy, are you alright...?" Feliciano wanted to make sure that this man, that he grew to care for so much after only three days of knowing one another, wasn't harming himself in any way, or forcing himself to do something he wouldn't under other circumstances.
He tried to let go of their held hands- perhaps that was what bothered Ludwig. They were two men, after all.
Ludwig's instinct was to hold onto Feliciano's wrist.
"L-Ludwig," Feliciano grew more and more concerned with each moment that had passed, "what's wrong...? Is there anything I could do to ease this whole manner for you...? I-I don't want you to be nervous when we're-"
Feliciano was quietened by a kiss.
He closed his eyes, savouring how Ludwig's lips caressed his in such a delicate manner, almost as though he was afraid to harm Feliciano's lips if he kissed him too harshly. He felt Ludwig slowly lay him down by the river bank, one of his arms wrapped around his back as he was lowered, and Ludwig was still safely enveloping his lips with his, and soon the scent of the crimson roses reached his nose, and his head was rested on the soft grass.
Feliciano didn't open his eyes when Ludwig pulled away; he preferred to try and treasure this moment in his memories, so that he'd be able to relieve it, too, just the way he enjoyed all the hours, minutes, seconds he and Ludwig wasted together.
He listened to his surroundings- the birds were chirping, and the wind was so light and whistled such a pleasant melody. The slow gush of the water.
It sounded like Ludwig was washing his face in the water.
...Feliciano might've been wrong, but had Ludwig just spat into it...?
Feliciano opened his eyes.
Ludwig was crouched above him, a large rock which was lowered and lifted repeatedly, in his hand, a sharp frown destroying his handsome features and his teeth exposed. His mouth formed words, and probably pronounced them, too, but Feliciano couldn't figure them out because his head throbbed so much…
Ludwig was so repulsed by himself. The contempt he was so familiar with was flowing through every part of his body.
He was made to blush by a man again!
He invited a man to live with him again!
He held hands with a man again!
He kissed a man again!
He had fallen in love with a man again!
How could he?!
How could he?!
He knew it was wrong. And Feliciano was just as much of a sinner as he himself was.
It had to be done.
Men as beautiful as Feliciano were dangerous. Dangerous for other men. He was sure of it after his lips met his.
An abomination.
All beauty must die.
He kept bashing that rock into Feliciano's head. Again, and again. He was too dangerous. Too beautifully dangerous. He kept hitting his skull until he was satisfied. A large portion of the rock was now covered with the red blood, even more red than the roses around, and it started to drip down on Feliciano's beautiful face. He didn't even notice the few drops of it that landed on his own face.
He hurried to wash the crimson away from Feliciano's forehead.
He made sure not to damage his beautiful face…
The German brought his ear against Feliciano's chest, making sure the other was no longer breathing, before taking one last look at him.
He was so beautiful, surrounded by those sensationally red roses that matched the colour of his lips. Ludwig picked one, and planted it between Feliciano's teeth.
He kissed the man on the cheek. He kissed him goodbye, and gently rested him in the shallow stream...
Soon, he rose, his crimson jacket's sleeves now stained by a liquid of a similar colour, and so were his gloves, that were once such a clean shade of white. He fled the scene.
It rained today. Ludwig didn't go outside to tour a new village, and meet new people. A new person. A new love. A new... sinner…
The newspaper informed of a new body that's been discovered. The police decided to give the murderer the name "The Wild Roses Killer", and his victims- Wild Roses.