Protector. Ch. 3 A/N:
Disclaimer: Hikari does not own or claim to own Hetalia.
The phone rang again in the middle of the night.
Ludwig groaned and forced his eyes open. He had hoped for at least one night sleep. He sat up, the bed yet again groaning in response he picked up the ringing receiver.
"Hello?" he asked trying to sound as professional as he could even though he didn't put much energy into his tone or word choice. He knew what was most likely going to be said. No one else ever called at this time except for a few choice people which meant that he would have to leave Feliciano to look at a dead body. Fun.
"There's been another murder." Chief Alfred said. He too sounded just as tired as Ludwig. Ludwig dangled his muscular legs over the edge of the bed and stifled a yawn.
"Ok. Lay it on me." Ludwig said getting the notepad ready.
Alfred read off the address. A murder at a hotel. Even more fun, "See you soon." he said.
"Ja," Ludwig said accidentally letting his native language slip, "Be there soon." he said. He hung up the phone and ran a hand through blond hair. His natural hair hung in his face slightly. He sighed, getting irritated but how unprofessional his hair was. He would need more gel…
A pare of hands laced themselves around his waist. Ludwig jumped startled but quickly relaxed hearing the familiar chuckle of the Italians in his ear. His breath tickled his bare skin, causing goose bumps to dot his skin.
"Ludwig..." Feliciano whispered affectionately. Ludwig leaned back into his warm touch, feeling all his stress ebb from his body. Feliciano's hands drifted up to his arms, fingertips gently kneading the skin.
Ludwig could practically taste the Italians sweet breath on him. He felt the urge to press his lips to Feliciano's. He turned around on the bed and wrapped his arms around Feliciano's narrow waist and pulled him close to his chest.
Feliciano pressed his bare chest to Ludwig's undershirt, his warm hands gently pressing themselves on Ludwig's chest. Ludwig's blue eyes stared into the adoring chocolate eyes of the Italians. Affection swelled the Germans heart. The murder would wait just a few minutes; he missed these intimate times with Feliciano.
Ludwig's one hand drifted to rest on Feliciano's hip whilst the other drifted up to gently take Feliciano's chin. He could feel Feliciano's heart beat through his chest, driving his affections.
He guided Feliciano to his lips as be leaned forward. Their lips met gently. Feliciano's arms looped themselves around Ludwig's neck and pulled his smaller body closer.
Ludwig securely wrapped his arms around him. He wanted to always watch out for his lover, even if it was for something as simple as falling into a soft bed. He adored his little Italian so much; he couldn't even imagine him getting hurt. He adored the auburn haired man but he was weak and couldn't handle pain. Ludwig hated to see him in frightened or in pain. It made him feel as though he wasn't there to protect him.
Feliciano sat himself in Ludwig's lap and wrapped his legs around him. Ludwig let out a husky moan. He wanted to lean back and looked into Feliciano's adorable face but couldn't bring himself to part with his sweet lips.
Feliciano's cheeks flushed to a light pink. He slowly backed up, leading Ludwig further away from the edge. Once far enough away he tried pushing Ludwig's back to the bed.
Ludwig felt guilt flash through him; guilt for staying longer than he needed to and guilt for having to stop Feliciano. They hadn't been able to kiss like this in a long time due to their hectic schedules and they both were in desperate need of a change to get their stress out.
Ludwig gently put his hands to Feliciano's warm chest and pushed him away. Feliciano sat away, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout.
"I'm sorry Feliciano but I don't have time to do this." Ludwig said, his tone uncharacteristically soft. He traced Feliciano's lips with a muscular finger.
The Italians lips curved into an understanding smile. "Alright." he said. He sat away and smiled at Ludwig. Ludwig blushed and got out of bed, quickly getting dressed.
"Another case?" Feliciano asked.
"Ja, homicide." Ludwig explained as he looked into the mirror to slick his hair back. When he was satisfied, he glanced over at Feliciano.
The small Italian sat innocently on his bed. The covers were wrapped around his waist, hiding his bottom. He gazed at Ludwig with adoring chocolate eyes.
Ludwig couldn't help but smile. He gently kissed his lips for a few seconds and leaned away. Feliciano was doing his classic closed eyed grin. Ludwig chuckled and affectionately patted his cheek.
"I'll see you later." he said. Just as he turned to leave, Feliciano's hand suddenly shot out to grab Ludwig's wrist. Ludwig turned to look back questioningly.
"Feli?" he asked.
"Are you ok?" Feliciano asked softly.
"Ja? Why do you ask?" Ludwig asked curiously. He didn't want to admit that he was touched by Feliciano's concern.
"You just," Feliciano paused to think, a rare thing for the Italian who could usually babble, "Different."
"Different?" Ludwig echoed. "How so?" Hr asked.
"I don't know. Sometimes you seem distant or sometimes you're more affectionate than usual, not that I mind at all." Feliciano said.
Ludwig didn't really know how to react to that. "Well, I guess I am just stressed about the murders. I have a really bad feeling about this." Ludwig admitted.
Feliciano squeezed Ludwig's hand encouragingly and let go. "It'll be fine. You'll solve it like you usually do." he smiled.
Ludwig couldn't help but chuckle, "See you later, Feliciano." he smiled.
"Ve~ ciao!" he smiled. He waved back with a smile as Ludwig left the room.
Ludwig parked his car outside the building. Other police cars sat indolently as well as a coroner, waiting to haul the victim off.
Ludwig got out of the car and looked across the street at the restaurant that Romano took his girlfriend to. He suddenly felt fear twist his stomach. He hoped to god that it wasn't Romano lying in a puddle of his own blood.
Romano wasn't the nicest person to him but he cared deeply for Feliciano even though he didn't show it well. For that, he had Ludwig respect. In addition, Feliciano loved his brother and Ludwig didn't want to see his fragile Feliciano have to deal with loosing his brother.
Ludwig glanced up at the big hotel. It was a newer building with lots of windows and steel instead of brick like most older buildings. The front o the hotel had a long overhang and had gold statues by the door. Ludwig couldn't tell if they were real or not but either way, it cost some big bucks to stay in this hotel.
Ludwig approached the door. Upon entering the lobby he again saw officers, employees of the building and people who were on vacation. He smiled sympathetically at a frightened looking child. What kind of monsters killed people just a few days away from Christmas?
Ludwig received directions to the floor and room number of the room. He again met Kiku in the hallway.
"25, Caucasian, female. Even more brutal than the last one. I think it's related to the murder of Francis Bonnefoy." Kiku said.
Ludwig breathed out in relief. At least it wasn't Romano that was killed.
"What evidence do you have?" Ludwig asked. He glanced inside the room to see if he could see the victim. The body was being blocked by a man taking photographs for evidence.
"Again, we found nothing except for a business card with numbers." Kiku said. Ludwig nodded.
"Let's see what we got." he said hoping he could trick himself into being eager.
The shorter, Japanese man led Ludwig inside. Photographers moved out of their way. Ludwig covered his nose. He wretched at the rank death odor that flooded his senses.
The girl was lying on her back on a blood stained bed. The covers had been yanked away from the bed and the pillow had been stabbed and ripped apart.
The girls' eyes looked fearfully at the ceiling, frozen in time. Limbs were everywhere showing that the girl had been fighting for her life. A sock had been stuffed in her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Ludwig winced, staring into the girls eyes.
Her blouse was slightly open revealing a crevice line. Stuck in the middle of her crevice was another white card. Ludwig quickly slipped his hands into some gloves and took the card out of the only non-bloody place on her chest. Stab wounds covered her body. There was no way a person could have lived trough it all. Whoever had killed her had stabbed her repeatedly and continue to stab her even after she died.
Ludwig looked at the white card. Again it was empty except for "21223114". Blue eyes narrowed at the text. He handed it off to be put in an evidence bag.
"There is no vaginal tearing." Kiku added.
"Ok, so someone comes in, pins her to the bed, has her vulnerable but only kills her. Our killer obviously has some aggression but not enough to rape her." Ludwig said.
Ludwig looked at the big bruises on the girls wrists. The killer had held her hands above her hand and judging that he needed a hand to stab her with, he must have had a lot of strength. Ludwig was even more convinced that the Russian did it but he didn't have evidence to arrest him or put him away in jail.
He would have to continue searching or wait for another murder which Ludwig wasn't too thrilled about.
Glancing down at the dead girl Ludwig observed her. She was a very pretty girl and would undoubtedly have a boyfriend or possible husband or fiancé. She probably had dreams; have kids, get a promotion, become manager of a company or even start a new business. Either way, she would have been going far in life, changed many lives for the better. She had the kind of face that made people think she was a sweet girl. Kind oval eyes, sweet face capable of a smile that could light up a room.
Ludwig turned away from the girl, wanting not to think about her so much. That was always the bad part about him and his job. He always put himself or others in the victim's shoes. He could feel their fright to see the murderer break him and he could see how much that persons loss would affect other people.
Her face morphed into Feliciano's and it was suddenly Feliciano's bloody body. Ludwig shook his head. For both murders he had imagined Feliciano being murdered instead of Francis or the new girl. The murders gave him an ominous feeling as if something worse was going to happen.
A vibrate in his pocket caused him to jump in fright. He blushed embarrassed but was relieved that no one noticed. He checked his phone quickly.
'Ludwig, I need u 2 com home. Something bad happened and I don't know wut 2 do.' Feliciano's text read.
Ludwig's heart beat against his chest. He quickly went to Kiku.
"I need to go home. Something happened to Feliciano." he whispered.
Kiku nodded, his black eyes looking worriedly, "Ok. I hope all is well."
"Danke." Ludwig said as he quickly brushed past him. He had a desperate need to go home and see his little Feliciano. Bloody visions of Feliciano haunted his mind; Feliciano with a bullet wound in his stomach, Feliciano with a knife protruding his chest. None seemed realistic since Feliciano texted him instead of calling him or 911 but that didn't stop the horrible thoughts from plaguing his mind.
He sped to his shared apartment and slammed on the brakes outside the doorway. He sprinted up to his room, his heart beating in anticipation. He had to reach his Feliciano. He needed to check that he was ok. He loved him too much to loose him. He couldn't imagine a single day without the cheery Italian much less an entire lifetime.
Much to his dismay, the door was unlocked. He burst right through the door and yelled, "Feliciano!"
Feliciano and his brother turned to look at him, both letting out a 'manly' scream.
"You dumb potato eater! What do you think bursting into a room like that and screaming Feliciano's name! What do you expect him to do? Jump into your arms and shower you with kisses?" Romano shouted.
Any other time, Feliciano would have done just that but something stopped Feliciano. Instead, the carmel haired man stood up.
"Ludwig, can you help me with something in the kitchen?" he asked. Ludwig sighed. He rushed home to help in the kitchen. Great.
Ludwig followed the younger Italian to the kitchen.
"What is so important that I rushed here for?" Ludwig asked gruffly. He was angry for looking so dumb but something about Feliciano's demeanor stopped him from yelling.
"I think something happened with Romano's girlfriend." Feliciano said.
"And...?" Ludwig said confused at what Feliciano wanted him to do.
"Just listen to him. I-I just have this weird feeling that you can help." Feliciano said.
The timid look on Feliciano's face softened Ludwig. He nodded quietly.
"Alright. Let's see what's going on." Ludwig said. He gently took Feliciano's hand and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.
Feliciano blushed and led Ludwig back to the table.
"I'm sorry, fratello. What were you saying?" Feliciano asked sitting down across from his brother. Ludwig sat beside Feliciano and picked up an already open bottle of beer and started drinking, trying to look uninterested.
"That little *itch showed me up!" Romano shouted angrily. Ludwig could tell by how chocked up his voice was that he was on the verge of crying.
"Why'd she show you up? I'm so confused. I thought she really liked you." Feliciano said, his eyes round with confusion and sadness for his brother.
"I thought she did too but apparently she was just trying to play me! She went on the date with me and it was the best date ever! I've never had so much fun! When I called her this morning she didn't answer me!" Romano exclaimed. He covered his face with his hands, sucking in air to calm himself down.
Feliciano stood up but was quickly shot down with a glare from Romano. Ludwig discretely squeezed Feliciano's shoulder.
"But maybe she didn't just get your call. Maybe she was out in the city or something." Feliciano said.
Romano shook his head, "No. She wouldn't let me walk her home and she told me that she didn't have any plans except for working in her hotel room. She should have gotten my call! She must be ignoring me! That's why she wouldn't let me lead her home! She just said that it was because her hotel was right across the street but I don't think that's why!" Romano exclaimed, "God, Feli. I feel like such an idiot. I should never have dumped Antonio or gotten all wrapped up around Bella!"
Fear filled Ludwig. He suddenly had a sick feeling that he knew why Bella wasn't picking up the phone.
"Fratello, you're not an idiot. Maybe if you ask nicely, Toni will take you back. You know how much he loved you." Feliciano said gently.
"It's not like that stupid! We had a huge fight and I kind of told him about Bella and that I never wanted to ever see him again." Romano said. He sucked in some air to calm down but it wasn't working. If he didn't calm down soon he would start crying.
"Romano," Ludwig said gently, half afraid that his fears would be correct, "D-do you have a picture of Bella?"
"Stay out of this, potato *astard! I didn't ask you!" Romano said. He fished out his phone, "But yes, I do."
Romano handed Feliciano the phone. Ludwig and Feliciano both looked at the picture of Romano standing close to a girl with his arms around her waist. Romano was actually smiling for once and the girl was laughing at something. Ludwig's heart sank to recognize the girl as the one he had just seen on the hotel bed cut up.
"Ve~ she's really pretty, Romano!" Feliciano exclaimed happily. He handed the phone back to Romano. Romano blushed. He looked at the picture for a second before pocketing his phone again.
"Yeah, she was the prettiest girl I ever saw. Sweet too. I never met a girl like her." Romano smiled affectionately, a look in his eyes that Ludwig had never seen before.
Ludwig sighed, realizing he would have to tell Romano. He felt bad that he would have to be the one to give him the devastating news.
"Romano," he said gently.
"What is it potato *astard!" Romano snapped. Ludwig went to the Italian and put a calloused hand on his lithe shoulder. He suddenly saw Feliciano's face in Romano's. His heart softened as if he was talking to Feliciano. Ludwig noticed that Romano was a lot like his brother except that he hid his weakness with anger. Romano tensed under his touch.
"What the *ell are you doing, *astard?" Romano yelled. He glared up at Ludwig's soft gaze and immediately realized that something was wrong. The irate look on his face morphed to fear, "W-what is it, *amn it?"
Ludwig sighed, hating to do this. He glanced at Feliciano who had a confused and sad look on his face. Ludwig glanced away, not wanting to see that look on him.
"Romano, the reason why she didn't call you back is because Bella died." Ludwig said gently. Romano stared at him for a few seconds until he burst out laughing.
"Man! Your one sick *astard! That's almost funny!" Romano said.
"Romano, I left early today to go investigate a murder at her hotel. The girl in your phone is the same girl who was killed last night." Ludwig said gently. Romano looked at him. Slowly, his face broke. He covered his face with his hands and soon sobs irrupted from him. Feliciano immediately went over to his brother and pulled him into a hug.
"Fratello, I'm so sorry. " Feliciano whispered. Ludwig could see the tears in Feliciano's eyes as he tried to comfort his hysterical brother. Ludwig gently put a comforting hand on Feliciano's shoulder. Feliciano glanced up thankfully before turning back to his brother.
Romano cried like a broken man might cry. To him, he was broken. After his relationship with the Turkish man, then ending it with the Spaniard and now Bella being killed, he was alone. He believed that he would never be able to find love.
It took him several minutes for him to calm down. He looked up at Ludwig, his face red and streaked with tears. His eyes filled with a fire that Ludwig hadn't seen in either of the Italians.
"Find him." He growled, "Find the *astard who killed my Bella."
Ludwig glanced at the broken man. He gently squeezes his shoulder and for once, Romano doesn't ignore it, "I promise, Romano, I promise."
A/N: Yay! Another chapter done! Sorry about Feliciano's text. I tried to do chat speak but I'm not fluent in it at all. My health/gym teacher gave me a mood sticker. It's like a mood ring but it's just a small dot. The dot has been black entirely meaning I'm stressed! Woot! My teacher said to try reading the book I'm reading so instead I decided to write more of this chapter while listening to Miley Cyrus (There is nothing else better to listen to!) and it got even darker! See! You guys are stressing me out! For that, you should review. Haha. I'm just joking. You guys don't stress me out. I'm just one of those weird people that are constantly stressed for no reason. Soooo, bring on the heart attack and white hair! Haha. Please review! :D