GerIta fluff. Human AU (high school/college). One shot.
"I had a dream last night."
Feliciano glanced up at his friend who was staring at something beyond the window of the kitchen where they sat studying for their finals. Ludwig's pencil tapped pensively at the table, an action that usually sent him into fits of irritation.
"I dreamt that I was in love with a little maid girl who worked in my house." His deep, blue eyes barely flickered behind the lenses of his reading glasses, unfocused but on the scene from his subconscious. "She was so pretty… but every time I tried to talk to her, she ran away."
Silence fell, and Feliciano didn't have the heart to tell his friend that he had worn girl's clothes until he was in Kindergarten.
"I had a dream last night."
Ludwig snapped open the plastic water bottle, drinking down half of the contents and pouring the rest over his head. Wiping it from his eyes, he continued.
"I dreamt that I was a knight, fighting to defend this priest's church." He leaned back against the ropes of the boxing ring with a sigh. "It was a beautiful church, and the priest was so kind… but my Order ended up changing sides, and I never saw them again."
Neither of them spoke as Ludwig paused to unlace his boxing gloves. Feliciano couldn't bring himself to tell his friend about his old dream of joining the seminary, of working in a church with bright stained glass and golden adornments.
"I had a dream last night."
Feliciano leaned his head against the window of his friend's car, watching as the world slipped past. In his lap he carried a stack of enveloped college applications, well on their way to the post office.
"I dreamt I was looking for someone, a descendant of Rome, and I found him hiding in a wooden crate." Ludwig chuckled, flicking on his blinker and easing around a corner. "And he started crying and begging me not to hurt him… then he promised to be my best friend even as I pointed my rifle at his chest."
They lapsed into an awkward silence. Feliciano kept his lips sealed, unable to remind his friend that he was Italian – a descendant of Rome – and that he, too, had once begged for friendship under the threat of physical harm.
"I had a dream last night."
Ludwig adjusted the collar of his military dress uniform, eying himself in the full length mirror. Smoothing his jacket and pulling on his cap, he flashed a smart salute to his reflection.
"I dreamt I was a soldier, trying to win a war." He glanced at Feliciano who refused to meet his eyes, devastated at the thought of losing his best friend to the Army. "But in the end, my closest ally betrayed me and I lost horribly… but I still loved him anyway. He had been my friend through so much that I barely blamed him for leaving, in fact, I was glad that he deserted me. He was a terrible fighter."
Words were lost in the heavy atmosphere as the young men squared off to face each other: one leaving for a military academy, the other pursuing a career in the arts. Feliciano had lost the ability to speak or he might have told Ludwig that he had so nearly applied for the same academy. Instead he took the coward's path and was letting his friend go on alone.
"I've had lots of dreams." Feliciano called after his friend, tears standing in his eyes as he watched the other's back. "I've dreamt of serving in a big house, bossed around by another boy who blushed whenever I tried to talk to him."
Up ahead, Ludwig froze mid-step, his reply caught in his throat. Feliciano didn't care. He continued blurting all the dreams he'd never shared even as his friend had confided in him.
" I've dreamt of being a priest and working in an old cathedral, protected by a brave knight who was forced abandon his post. I've dreamt of hiding away in an old tomato crate, being found by a man who threatened me at gunpoint as I offered to be his friend. I've dreamt of being a soldier in a war, deserting my closest friend when things looked bad because I was a coward and I didn't want to die. And even though all of them were different, all of those people were you. And because they were all you, I loved them all with all my heart."
Ludwig was at his side in a moment, holding him – embracing him – in a way he never thought he would. As they stood together in the airport, one preparing to board a plane and slip out of the other's grasp forever; the two of them became one in their sorrow.
"I think I always knew it was you," Ludwig was saying, whispering heavily into his friend's ear. "Your smile, your voice, your cowardice… it never changed. It was always you."
"I feel like we've always been together," Feliciano was saying, sobbing gently into his friend's chest. "Like we've been meant to be but never have. War, fighting… it's always torn us apart."
A gentle hand wiped the tears from his cheeks as Ludwig cupped his chin. "Then let's not let it happen again."
And they kissed each other gently in a way that they had never managed before. Because they had always been separated, and this time, they wanted to remain at the other's side.
"I had a dream last night."
Ludwig turned to face his once-friend, now-lover, holding him tightly beneath the safety of the comforter that they had draped across their shared bed. Feliciano kissed his chin, grinning happily as he nuzzled into the other's neck.
"I dreamt that all the you's and me's of the past were smiling, finally united in a peaceful world."
Kissing him on the forehead, Ludwig's contented gaze met his.
"What a coincidence," he murmured, clutching his lover to his chest. "I saw them, too."
So the last bit was after Ludwig returned from school/serving in the military (no, he didn't go AWOL for Feliciano... sorry?).
Each section was meant to symbolize a year of high school until the scene in the airport (after they had graduated).
I know the dialogue isn't in character, but it's more of a... lyrical (?) sort of fic. It's thoughtful and the dialogue reflects it.
Sidenote: I kind of like the idea of Ludwig and Feliciano being reincarnated repeatedly until they are finally able to be together without the threat of war and politics...