Shine Like Stars
Chapter 4
Ludwig was too excited, then drunk, last night to really understand what a car was. They were going extremely fast while sitting. He had seen them on his t.v., but he didn't quite get them until now. Cars were amazing, and very scary.
They drove next to other cars full of people, and they were all going fast. Ludwig clung to Feliciano's hand as they drove to the mall, flinching when they passed or were passed by other cars. He also pressed his nose against the window while zooming past large fields and a lake.
The mall was a strange place. A lot of people were there, more than the place they went to last night, Ludwig thought. Children pointed at his hair in awe and teenage girls gazed at him curiously.
Ludwig bent to Feliciano's ear. "Why is everyone staring at me?"
Feliciano squeezed Ludwig's hand. "We don't get a lot of new people around here, especially with hair that goes to their ankles."
"Is my hair bad?" Ludwig quickly reached up to touch the freshly washed and braided locks.
"No, just not the usual around here," Feliciano smiled. "Nothing to worry about."
Ludwig frowned. "Should I get it cut?"
"It's your hair. If you want to, then I say yes. If you don't, then I say no." Feliciano said simply.
The blond pulled the heavy braid over his shoulder and looked at the cross crossed locks of hair. "Not today. But I will."
"Hey, are we shopping or what?" Lovino snapped from Antonio's side. Their hands were interlocked sweetly, quite the opposite of how Ludwig was clutching Feliciano. He loosened his grip to a more comfortable state.
"We're coming, grumpy pants!" Feliciano grinned. "Where should we go first?"
"What kind of clothes do you want, Ludwig?" Antonio asked.
The blond blinked. He hadn't a clue what he wanted, let alone what half of them were called.
"Okay, how about…" Feliciano trailed off, then he grinned. "What's your favorite color?"
"Blue."
"What's your favorite animal?"
"Dogs," Ludwig was confused. Why was Feliciano asking him these random questions?
"What's your favorite shape?"
"Stars," Ludwig shook his head. "What are you doing?"
"Now we know what kind of clothes to get you!" Feliciano turned Ludwig around and pushed him into the nearest store.
"That didn't make any sense," Lovino grumbled, but followed after them. Antonio just rolled his eyes and laughed.
Ludwig wasn't sure what to look for when Feliciano told him to look around. He walked around islands with folded shirts and pants. He spotted a few things that looked like Gilbert's clothes, but he didn't find anything he liked. After a few minutes, Feliciano came up to him with arms full of clothes.
"Did you find anything you like?" Feliciano asked.
"I don't even know what I'm looking for," the blond admitted shyly.
Feliciano smiled. "No worries. Why don't we try these things on?"
Before Ludwig could say anything, Feliciano had locked them in a small room that felt like a closet.
"Why are you in here with me?" Ludwig asked. They were pressed pretty close together, though not touching.
"So I can help you, duh." Feliciano grinned. "Now take those off."
An hour later, Ludwig was wearing his new favorite outfit that consisted of jeans, brown rubber flip flops, and a shirt that depicted a life like picture of a German shepherd wearing a police hat.
Feliciano had tried to get Ludwig into something more fashionable, but he had insisted on the dog shirt and flip flops. Seeing a losing battle, Feliciano relented and swiped his card.
Lovino got a kick out of the outfit. At least, until Antonio whacked him upside the head. "Be nice. I think it's cute."
Ludwig felt his heart warm and smiled at Antonio. "Thank you."
They walked out of the mall and deposited Ludwigs bags in the car while deciding what to do for lunch.
Feliciano wanted something Ludwig would want, though the blond didn't care. They could go to a dog food place and he would be happy. He was finally seeing the world and where they ate didn't bother him.
Getting irritated by everyone debating, Lovino lead everyone to the nearest restaurant. A quaint diner that had a single sign that said FOOD.
"So, is the place called Food?" Ludwig asked.
Feliciano laughed. "No, it's called Grandma's Home Cooked Food. When they put the sign up, they found it was too expensive for the whole thing, so they settled on Food."
"Oh," that was all Ludwig could think of to say to such a story.
Antonio held the door open as an elderly couple walked out. Ludwig examined the restaurant's windows. A large poster with stars was pasted to the window on his right. He quickly went to examine it. It read:
Come look at the stars!
Join Grandma June and the Young Men and Women club April 7th in Willow Park at 9 P.M. to learn and gaze at the stars!
See you there!
There were two characters drawn on the bottom of the poster. One had her hand pointed to the sky while a boy examined a book with a crudely drawn constellation.
"Ludwig, what are you looking at?" Feliciano asked.
"There's a stargazing event tonight," Ludwig said. "It sounds fun."
Lovino made his way over and read the sign. He scoffed when he was finished. "We used to go to that when we were kids. After you turn eight, it's very boring."
Feliciano whacked his brother's shoulder. "Its super fun! They even have little cookies after."
Ludwig became visibly excited. "Can we go? I know you've done so much for me already, but-"
"Of course we can go!" Feliciano cheered. "We haven't been in forever. Lovino secretly likes it. He just doesn't want Toni to know or he'll start getting all gushy."
"Feliciano!" Lovino snapped.
"My little Lovi likes looking at the stars? How cute!" Antonio wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders.
Feliciano laughed and grabbed Ludwig's hand. "C'mon. I'm starving."
Ludwig let himself be pulled inside the diner while Lovino yelled at Antonio behind them. The diner consisted of rows with three cherry red booth tables on each side, that ended with a bar in the back. A long window showed the kitchen behind the bar. The middle of the floor was charmingly cluttered with mismatched chairs and tables. The floor was wood and creaked with every step someone took. Ludwig loved it.
A plump woman lifted a piece of the bar and bustled over to them. "Is that my Feli?"
"Hi, Grandma June," Feliciano grinned as he was hugged.
Grandma June was shorter than Feliciano, who only came to Ludwig's chin. She had pure white hair that was braided thickly down to her waist. Large round glasses sat on her delicate nose. Her cheeks were red and chubby and her teeth were too straight to be real. Ludwig asked Feliciano about that later and discovered they were called 'dentures.'
"And who is this?" Grandma June faced Ludwig.
"This is my friend Ludwig, he's visiting from out of town," Feliciano said.
Trying to smile his best, Ludwig held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Miss June."
Instead of shaking his hand, Grandma June yanked Ludwig into a bone crunching hug. "Just call me Grandma June. Or plain ol' June. 'Miss' makes me old."
"Oh, alright," Ludwig awkwardly patted the woman's back as Lovino snickered and Feliciano and Antonio grinned.
"What beautiful hair! Gonna send me on a run for my money! Looks like I've been booted from the 'longest hair in town' position," the woman laughed and patted Ludwigs cheek.
Ludwig chuckled weakly and looked to Feliciano for help.
The brunet quickly spoke up. "Ludwig will need to try a few famous things on your menu, Grandma June!"
"Oh, of course. Go sit and I'll send August over with some menus," Grandma June went to give Antonio and Lovino a hug and what appeared to be kisses.
"That was...intense," Ludwig whispered to Feliciano.
He laughed. "That's Grandma June for you. Wait until you meet August, he's crankier than Lovino."
Ludwig chuckled and glanced over his shoulder at Lovino. He was being wrestled into a hug from Grandma June while Antonio laughed.
Feliciano picked a booth table. The cushions were red and not too comfortable. The table was wood and was worn down in four spots in the shape of oval plates. Another four worn out spots were smaller and from cups.
A teenager with fiery red hair and a million freckles stopped by their table notebook in hand. "Hey, Feliciano."
"Hi, August. This is my friend Ludwig," Feliciano pointed delicately at the blond.
Ludwig offered a shy smile, which August returned, though it looked like he was in pain. "Nice to meet you. I guess you'll be needing a menu then?"
"Er, yes please," Ludwig took the menu August offered. It was a single laminated sheet with breakfast on one side and half lunch, half dinner on the other. Desserts were crammed on the bottom of the dinner selection while the drinks were squished in the top corner of the breakfast side.
"Alright, I'll be back in a few," August grimaced again and went to another table.
Lovino slumped into the seat opposite Ludwig and Feliciano. Antonio slid in next to him.
"That old woman is going to be the death of me," Lovino combed his fingers through his hair.
"Oh, she means well," Antonio grinned.
"She wouldn't stop touching my hair, now it's going to look like a mop!" Lovino hissed.
"I don't see a difference," Feliciano said with a grin.
"I'm going to punch you," Lovino glared.
"Hi, Antonio," a girl squeaked. She had short black cropped hair, braces with rainbow bands and quite an impressive set of breasts under a purple t-shirt with a unicorn on the front.
"Hello, April," Antonio grinned. "How are you?"
The girl blushed darkly. "I'm fine, my braces come off in like a month."
"That's great! You'll look even more beautiful than you do now."
April's blush spread to her neck. "Th-thank you."
"April! These plates aren't going to serve themselves!" a woman who looked like an older version of April, but with red hair like August, shouted from the bar.
"Coming, Mama!" April waved one last time at Antonio before walking briskly away. Ludwig watched her chest as she went, wondering how anyone could manage with something like that. Especially when they bounced so much.
"Who is that?" Ludwig asked.
"That's May, she's August and April's mom," Feliciano said, though he was glaring at Ludwig.
"Is everyone here named after a month?" the blond looked at Feliciano and was surprised to find such an angry face. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Yes," was the only answer Feliciano supplied. Ludwig wasn't sure what question it was answering, but when Feliciano said nothing more, he assumed both.
Lovino snickered. "Oh, don't be mad, Feli. Her tits are just that impressive. I don't think Ludwig has ever seen a pair. He's just curious."
Feliciano flushed red. "I am not jealous. He can look at whomever he wants."
Ludwig looked between to two bickering brothers before facing Antonio. "What did I do?"
"You just stared at April a little too long," Antonio said softly.
"Was that bad?"
Antonio lifted a shoulder. "Feliciano likes you. He doesn't like that you were looking at her...breasts."
"So, looking at breasts is bad?"
"Well, no. Feliciano just likes you. It hurt his feelings when you looked at her like that," Antonio explained.
Ludwig seemed to finally understand. He made a soft 'ooh' sound. He turned and tapped Feliciano's shoulder.
"Yes, Ludwig?" Feliciano said rather coldly.
"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I didn't mean to," Ludwig said. It was kind of embarrassing with Antonio and Lovino watching.
Feliciano glanced at him before breaking out in a smile. "It's okay. I know you didn't do it on purpose."
Ludwig smiled shyly. "Will you help me decide? You know everything here."
"Okay," Feliciano scooched closer to Ludwig and pointed out the best things to eat.
By the time April came back, Ludwig had decided on some strange thing called a hamburger. Ludwig was careful to keep his eyes firmly on the girl's face as they took their order. When she left, Feliciano explained that they were all named after months as a family tradition. Ludwig thought it was weird, but didn't question it any further.
With lunch in front of them and Ludwig's quiet excitement for a night of stargazing, they enjoyed each other's company. Ludwig never wanted to go back to his tower.