By the time Francis arrived at the company Ludwig worked at – he'd to call up Antonio again to find that out – it was dark. Much to his relief Ludwig wasn't waiting for him yet, though. He felt somewhat nervous about this whole thing. Why had he been this stupid? He hadn't much hope for this to work out anyway. But still, he waited.
Half an hour later he received a message by Ludwig in which he was told that Ludwig needed to finish some papers before he would go home but he would hurry. It took more time than Francis had hoped it would. It gave him a lot more time to reconsider everything than he fancied.
Finally, after almost an hour of waiting, someone knocked on his car's window causing him to jolt upright and out of his thoughts. He hurried to bend over to open the door on the passenger's side.
"Hello there," he said, a smile on his lips.
"Hi," said Ludwig and blushed. "Thanks for picking me up."
He got into the car and Francis started the engine.
It was a very quiet drive home to Francis' place. None of them dared to be the first to talk. Francis was still wondering why Ludwig had wanted to meet him again and agreed this spontaneous to get picked up. He just didn't look like the type to be very spontaneous. On the other hand, he'd been very spontaneous on this kind of thing the last time, too. Ludwig had thoughts of his own Francis could only guess.
"Until I got your message I thought you didn't want to see me ever again," Ludwig murmured.
For a second, Francis was so shocked he just had to look at Ludwig. "You did? Why?" he finally managed to utter.
Ludwig shrugged. He took a deep breath. It seemed as if he had his difficulties to go on talking. "Because Lovino didn't manage to get your number," he sighed. "I thought you didn't want me to have it."
Damn 'Tonio, Francis thought. "It's not like that," he said, faking a smile. He would get back at Antonio for this. "I didn't even know that you wanted it. I suppose, we were just unlucky on this."
"Yeah," Ludwig smiled, too. "Good thing Antonio passed on my number."
Francis simply nodded. He didn't know what to say. Usually, he would by now start making compliments to the other to ensure they were going the whole way the night. But with Ludwig … this wasn't the first time for the two of them. This might not be the last time. At least, Francis hoped it was one of many times but he couldn't know. That was what bothered him most. He didn't know if he wanted to give up his bachelor life and he didn't know that if he did, it would be for long.
"Francis?" Ludwig started. He was beet-red. "M-may I stay at your's for the night?" He looked like he awaited the sky to fall down on him for this blasphemous question, but of course, no such thing happened.
Francis mind went blank for one second. Did he just hear what he thought he heard?
"Of course you can," he cheered. He sped up his car. It wasn't too long anymore but the faster they would get there the better.
They drove on in silence. At last, as they had almost arrived at Francis' flat, Ludwig spoke again. His voice was nothing more than a whisper, but clearly audible to Francis: "I guess I like you very much." He had blushed even more if that was possible. Francis noticed that Ludwig also had taken a sudden interest in his shoes. For a moment he considered pretending not to have heard anything.
"It might be the same here," Francis said, taking a deep breath. "I'm not the type who usually calls a week later. Or at all."
Ludwig raised his head and turned towards Francis. The first surprised expression turned into a bright smile. For a second, Francis was so distracted that he nearly missed the house he was living at. He stepped on the brakes rather harshly and brought the car to an abrupt halt.
"That's not good for your car, you know?" Ludwig chuckled.
Francis mumbled something that sounded much like a curse.
They got out of the car and Francis led them into his flat and then in his living room. There they stood for some moments and simply watched at each other, not knowing what to say or to do.
At last, Francis stepped forward and pulled Ludwig in a tight hug, followed by a long, longing kiss. Ludwig responded quickly. He put his arms around Francis' waist and pulled him closer to himself. He parted his lips to allow Francis' tongue to enter. Their hot saliva mixed in their mouths, their tongues stroked over another and brushed over and fondled with each other. They both felt incredibly and wonderfully warm. Holding Ludwig in his arms like this and feeling him melt into his kiss sent a warm shiver down his spine.
When they finally parted – or at least their lips now didn't touch anymore – they both were way beyond the point of being out of breath. Stumbling because they both weren't used to walk while clinging to another they reached the sofa and fell down on it.
They cuddled on the couch, watching a comedy film by some French director. They were more interested in each other than in the movie but still, they had a good laugh. After the movie and some glass of wine, they went to bed, Ludwig cuddling into Francis' arms around him.