Yes, yes, I'm uploading these quickly.
The boy's footsteps were indented in the snow, it had been twenty minutes and they still looked freshly laid.
Ludwig took a bite of his freshly bought chocolate, he felt an odd weight on him as he looked at the indents.
He wondered where they led.
The boy was so young, barely a man.
He said he'd lived with his older brother, but how much older could that be?
And he looked so small…
He found himself following the footsteps, though he wasn't really sure why.
He didn't really think, he just walked.
He didn't know why, but the only question on his mind was 'is he ok?' He had seemed… there was something about him, that he couldn't put his finger on.
Something that made his insides squirm.
Uncomfortable, but… intriguing.
He didn't know what it was.
He didn't like not knowing.
He found himself in one of the better parts of town, looking upon a large, old house.
This was his house?
Well then… was all that a ruse?
The bad clothes, the small amount of food.
Why would he put on an act like that?
He ducked down, behind a bush as he heard the boy's shrill voice shout 'Romano!'
He let out a light exhale, and frowned to himself as his heart began to race, for no apparent reason.
He turned and began to walk away, back towards the base.
"Ludwig!" he heard the familiar voice of his brother as he walked, he stopped, feeling himself blush slightly; how much of that had the older man seen?
He smiled to his brother, "Yes, Gil?"
"What are you doing here?" Gilbert asked with a smile.
"I could ask you the same," Ludwig said defensively.
Gilbert frowned, "I… was delivering a package… I told you, remember?"
Ludwig shook his head, remembering the earlier conversation, "Ja, of course. I'm sorry, I was distracted."
The older man scoffed, frowning, "Are you ok?"
"Yes," Ludwig snapped in reply, "I'm fine, I'm just cold."
They walked down the dirt road, now covered with snow, where Ludwig had first met Feliciano.
"Well if you hadn't given your scarf away…"
"Shut up."
Gilbert stopped, turning to him, a little unnerved by the man's tone, how quickly he had snapped, "Ludwig… What's wrong?"
Ludwig sighed, "I don't know… I only met him once, but he plays on my mind like he's my oldest friend."
Gilbert sighed, shaking his head as he began to walk again, "You need to stop those thoughts, brother… following urges like those will get you in trouble."
Ludwig frowned, "What? I have no 'urges'. You're talking nonsense…"
Gilbert nodded, "Ja,ja…"
The taller man's frown deepened, "Stop it, Gilbert."
"When you get a girlfriend I will…"
"You have no girlfriend."
"But I don't chase Italian boys either."
"I'm not chasing anything! I don't even know why I followed him."
Gilbert turned his head to Ludwig, frowning, his mouth open slightly, "You were following him? You followed him to the house up there?"
Ludwig nodded, glancing back up to the house.
"Oh, well then maybe being friends with him wouldn't be too bad…"
"Was?"
"The old man who lived there, he used to most of this land."
"Really? So they are rich?"
"Not anymore, but their name has a lot of pull. If they liked you it would help our cause."
They rounded the corner, walking into their base, their voices dropped slightly to limit the number of people who could hear.
"I'm not going to pretend to like a… a child, just to make our cause look good…"
Gilbert smiled, "I'm not saying that. But if that boy liked you then he might talk well of us."
"He said I wasn't as bad as his brother had led him to believe," Ludwig said, thinking back to the conversation he had had with the boy. Remembering the effervescent voice.
If he had talked to the snow it would have melted…
"His name's Feliciano," Ludwig added needlessly.
Gilbert nodded, "Well, he thinks better of us for meeting you, so I'd say your job was done."
Ludwig sighed, "Ja. I suppose you want me to stay away from him now?"
The older man chuckled loudly, making several people turn their heads. He waited for them to look away again, "Of course. They would make an example of you."
"I'm sure," Ludwig said with a smile, he opened the door to their bunkroom, walking through and finding his bed, he lay down and stared at the ceiling.
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...should I really have to ask...
come on people...