Author's note: Howdy hey!

... You know what? Yeah. I've decided that they're gonna be two separate fics. XP One for friendship and one for romance.

Right now, enjoy the friendship! Coz I have to drag you lot through the friendship storyline first, anyway. It connects to the romance one later.

Hope you enjoy it!

P.S. I hope the accents aren't annoying anybody. Lol. They're really fun to write and help me hear their voices in my head better. If they are, sorry!

Chapter Four: Poles Apart

A week of hanging out and eating lunch together – save for the weekend, of course – went by rather quickly. Feliciano continued to make Ludwig sandwiches – all of which the German complimented, much to the delight of his Italian pride – and they continued to hang out together whenever they had free time. It was really nice having someone to spend all his time in school with! He hadn't had that in ages.

Wishing his new friend good morning, as usual, Feliciano skipped over to his seat.

A short while after he'd sat down, a pair of hands landed on his desk. Looking up in surprise, he came face-to-face with a grinning Alfred.

"Feliciano, my man!" Alfred cried.

"Oh, buongiorno, Alfred!" he replied, smiling back.

"So, what's all this nonsense I've been hearing about you and Ludwig?"

Feliciano tilted his head in confusion. "Me and Ludwig?"

"Yeah, dude! Everyone in our class has been talking about it! About how you and Mr. Grumpy Guts over there have been hanging out lately!" He laughed loudly. "But that can't be right, 'cause you're terrified of the guy! And he's no social butterfly, himself!"

Alfred's cousin seemed to appear out of thin air beside the American. "Yeah..." he added, "and some people have said they've heard you... um... wishing him good morning... Oh, speaking of which, good morning, Feliciano."

Feliciano smiled. "Buongiorno, Michael!" he replied.

"It's Matthew..."

"And si! It's true! Ludwig and I are friends now~"

Alfred stared at him, long and hard, for a few moments. Then he burst out laughing. "Oh, man!" he said. "Good one, dude! You almost had me for a second there!"

"No, really! He's actually really nice when you get to know him~"

Alfred stared at him again. "Hold on a minute... we are still talking about Ludwig, right?" He pointed at Ludwig, who was sitting across the room. "That Ludwig? Grumpy German Ludwig?"

"Si~"

Alfred paused a long moment, then turned to his cousin. "Martin, dude, I think we need to get him a doctor..."

"It's Matthew..." his cousin replied. He turned to Feliciano. "And what Alfred means to say is... it seems unlikely, since you're both so... um... different."

"Different?" Feliciano asked.

"Well, yeah, dude!" Alfred replied. "You're goofy and weird and talk too much and he's stern and serious, with a stick so far up his ass that it's poking his brain!"

"That's not very nice, eh?" his cousin mumbled.

"Aww, Ludwig may look big and scary," Feliciano said, "but he's actually really nice! Maybe even a bit shy~"

Alfred looked at him incredulously, then whipped his head around to stare at Ludwig. "Shy?" he asked. "Him?"

"Si~"

"... Well, it might explain a few things..." his cousin said.

"Like what, Mitchell?" Alfred asked, still staring over at Ludwig.

"It's Matthew... Anyway, it might explain how he never talks to anybody or doesn't seem to have any friends..."

"But he's so grumpy!" Alfred turned back to his cousin. "I mean, I tried getting him to open up, but he just wouldn't, man! He just kept glaring at me and calling me some weird German word I can't remember!" He grinned. "And you must be a total grump to not want to be the hero's friend!" He laughed loudly.

"... You're still on aboot this hero business?"

"Hell yeah, brah!"

His cousin sighed. "You pull one cat out of a tree and you get a hero complex..."

"Dude, ain't nothing complex about it."

"Alfred, Malcolm," the teacher said as she entered the room, "take your seats, please."

"Sure thing, teach!" Alfred marched off to his seat.

Trudging behind him, his cousin heaved a sigh. "It's Matthew..." he mumbled.

Meeting up with Feliciano at lunchtime, Ludwig shepherded him down the corridors, occasionally pulling him out of the way of passers-by and earning a bright smile in response. Honestly, the Italian was so clumsy.

As they rounded a corner, they encountered two other Italians chatting to one another near a set of lockers. The taller one – who had a strangely bent curl – was grinning cheekily, while the shorter one was huffing angrily. Recognising the latter, Ludwig frowned slightly.

"No need to be-a so grouchy, eh?" the taller one said. "You need to lighten-a up a little."

"Don't-a you tell me to lighten up, you bastard!" the shorter one said.

"Oh, it's fratello!" Feliciano said, stopping by them. Ludwig stopped beside him. Feliciano waved. "Ciao, fratello!"

The two Italians looked at them. "Oh, is-a this the brother you told me about?" the taller one asked. He gave a wink and a small wave. "Ciao, little guy!"

... Brother?

"Yeah, yeah," the shorter one said, "ciao, ya bas-" He noticed Ludwig and froze.

The two stared at each other. This guy was Feliciano's brother? Then again, he'd heard Feliciano yell the word 'fratello' during that slight scrap the week before, hadn't he? He hadn't known what it meant at the time, but now... It also explained why they looked so alike...

The shorter Italian glared at him, hard. "What-a the crapola do you want?"

"Oh, that's-a right!" Feliciano said. "You two know each other, don't-a you?"

"Pfft. Barely, thank-a dio."

"I saw you two get into a fight a few days ago."

"Ze von vhere he vouldn't stop kicking me?" Ludwig asked.

"Well, if you weren't-a being such a bastard," the other Italian snapped, "I wouldn't have had to kick you... you bastard!"

The taller Italian grinned. "So, you-a two had a fight, eh?" he asked.

"Si."

"And it looks-a like another one's about to break out! I'd-a love to stay and watch, but I've-a got a date with a pretty Korean girl this-a lunchtime and I don't wanna be late. Tell-a me all about it later, Lovino. Ciao!" He gave another short wave before walking off.

"Ciao!" Feliciano replied, waving back. He turned back to his brother. "He seemed nice. Is he your new friend, fratello?"

"Never mind him!" Lovino replied. He jabbed a finger in Ludwig's direction. "Why the hell is he here?"

"Oh! That's right! I didn't introduce you two!" He turned to Ludwig. "Ludwig, this is my big brother, Lovino! Well, actually, he's my twin, but, since he's two minutes older than me, he prefers to be called-a my big brother..." He turned to Lovino. "And, Lovino, this is my new friend, Ludwig!"

"Friend? What do you mean friend? You can't-a possibly be telling me that you're friends with this potato-loving bastard!"

"Oh, but, fratello, Ludwig's really nice!"

"Tch. I knew you had-a rocks for brains, but this is ridicolo!"

"No, really, he is! He may look-a big and mean and scary, but he's a really really nice guy!"

... Again with the 'scary' comment. Ludwig knew he was rather tall and bulky for his age, but...

"Tch..." Lovino paused, then marched up to Ludwig. He poked him in the chest several times with his index finger. "Look here, krauty-kraut! You better not do anything to hurt Feliciano, or I swear to god..."

Ludwig stared coolly down at him. "I have no intention of hurting your brozer," he replied.

Lovino huffed. After a moment, he turned on his heel. "Whatever." He paused. "You have the weirdest taste in friends, fratello." He stormed off.

Sitting outside on the grass, Feliciano pulled out two plastic sandwich boxes, then handed one to Ludwig.

"Here you goooo~!" he said.

"Danke," Ludwig replied, taking the box.

As they ate their sandwiches in the cool midday air, Feliciano felt the ever-present need to talk.

"Sorry about-a my brother earlier. He's so silly!"

"... Zat's von word for it..."

Feliciano giggled. "Si, si... he can be a real grumpy-pants."

"So I've noticed."

"Oh! By the way! On the way to school this morning, I flirted-a with the pretty Mo... Mono... Monocan... What do you call someone who comes from Monaco?"

"A... Monegasque, I zink."

"Really? I'm not-a going to remember that!" Feliciano paused. "Anyway, I flirted-a with her and she almost smiled at me! Almost."

"Is zat so?"

"Siiii~! Then she asked if I play poker. I said I don't, so she left. Maybe I should learn! Then I could-a go back and impress her!" Ludwig sighed in response. "The girls in this school are so pretty, aren't they? Especially Laura. Though she hangs around with that stern tall guy, Tim. From the Netherlands, I think. Anyway... are there any you like?"

"Not really. I don't really pay zem much attention."

"Really? Wow, I don't understand that at all!"

"Not everyvon has nozing but pasta und girls on ze brain..."

"Hey, I don't always think of only pasta and girls!"

"Oh?"

"Si! Sometimes, I think of pizza! Or cats! Or siestas! Or art!"

Ludwig rolled his eyes, sighing again. "Of course..."

"I love art class~! It's my favourite. I get to draw all sorts of things! One of my favourites is still life... though I love all kinds of art!"

"Ja, you alvays do talk about art..."

"Siii~!" He proudly puffed out his chest. "My Grandpa Roma says I have a natural gift for art!" He relaxed, smiling. "Do you like art, Ludwig?"

"... Vell, I confess... it's nice to look at, but... drawing isn't von of my strengths..."

"It's not?"

"Nein." The German's face turned a light shade of pink. "I'm... not very good at it..."

Feliciano could never help but be amused every time Ludwig's face changed colour. It was like some otherworldly being was breathing life into a statue.

"Oh well, we can't all be artistically-gifted-a like me! Even Lovino doesn't have my talent!"

"Is zat so?"

"Yup! I like sketching and inking, but I'm-a really good at painting!" He paused. "What's your favourite class?"

"Gym."

"Ehhhh? Really? I hate gym... I try to skip it whenever I can!"

One of Ludwig's eyebrows twitched. "Is zat so?"

"Si!"

"And you vonder vhy you're not very muscular..."

Feliciano chuckled, rubbing the back of his head in partial embarrassment. The other part was a swelling of Italian pride at being so lazy.

He paused as Ludwig ate more of his sandwich. Normally, he'd be wolfing down his own lunch, but, this last week, he'd been doing far more talking than eating. It was weird, but he wasn't complaining.

"So, anyway! I was thinking of doing an art course in college! Maybe I'll follow a career in it, or something! That would be so fun! Are you going to college, Ludwig?"

Ludwig paused mid-chew for a moment. He seemed to ponder his answer very carefully as he continued his chewing and swallowing.

"Probably not."

"Oh? You're going straight into work?"

"... Nein."

"Hmm?"

"... I'll... probably join ze army."

Feliciano's eyes shot open. "The... the army?"

Ludwig stared at him for a second. "Huh... it's not often I see you viz your eyes open..."

He immediately closed them. "Never mind-a my eyes! What do you mean you're joining the army?"

"Exactly zat. My... fazer und grandfazer boz joined... so I zink I vill, too."

"But... but it's dangerous!"

Ludwig gave him a half-lidded stare. "I'm vell avare of zat..."

"What if you go to war and you get hit-a by a bomb and die? Or you get ambushed by the enemy and die? Or you fall into a hole and die? Or you wander around the desert, desperately trying to find-a water, because you're dying of thirst, because your teammates have all used up the water by boiling pasta, and d-?"

"Feliciano! Stop. I'll be fine..."

"How do you know?"

"It's in my blood to join ze military. I'll be fine." He paused a long moment. "And, if not... vell, at least I'll die knowing zat I served my country." He paused again, looking thoughtful.

"Ohhhh... I don't-a like the sound of this job... Is Gilbert joining, too?"

"Nein. He has stated multiple times zat he's not interested."

"Really? What does he want to do?"

"He's set on being 'ze vorld's most awesome engineer', for some reason..."

"Oh..." Feliciano paused. "Don't-a you want to be an engineer, too?"

"Nein."

"Oh..." He paused again, shuffling awkwardly. "Is there nothing else you want to be?"

Ludwig looked at him curiously, then frowned in thought. "Hmm... vell... I suppose I vouldn't mind being a gym coach, or somezing..."

Feliciano froze at that. "A... gym coach?"

"Ja."

Oddly, Feliciano could see it. Tall, muscular Ludwig, standing stern with a hat and whistle, barking orders at students... no, athletes – since his talents would honestly be wasted on students – as they did fifty push-ups, or ran fifty laps. The image was terrifying.

He shuddered. "Well, it's better than joining the army..."

"Hmm..."

Come to think of it, though, Ludwig would make the perfect soldier, too. Always standing to attention, always doing as he was told... never holding back. That 'military precision' that he always exercised in class could be put to good use on a battlefield.

"But... I guess it's your choice in the end, Ludwig." He smiled at his German friend. "Though I do hope you don't die."

"Hey, I'm not joining yet... I have to leave high school first."

"I know, I know! I just wouldn't want anything to happen to my good friend~"

The light pink tint returned to Ludwig's cheeks as he looked away. The sight of this alone was enough to cheer Feliciano up. The German really was incredibly shy about his feelings, wasn't he? It was rather adorable!

His stomach suddenly grumbled, reminding him that he still hadn't touched his sandwiches. Recovering from the surprise, he laughed at his forgetfulness. This earned him an eye roll from Ludwig.

They continued eating their sandwiches in peace.