~Birthdays~
Date: October 3
Time: 4:06 (PM)
Silence was never a thing Ludwig liked to go to long without; he knew he could get irritable without the comfort of silence. On occasions, Ludwig would simply become irritated with noise in general. He admitted, this was a strange quirk of his, the way he almost adored silence. It was something he had grown up depending on. With Gilbert around while he was growing up, Ludwig found that moments of silence were safe like a comfortable blanket for a frightened child during a storm, it brought him comfort.
Comfort. That was the only thing he truly wished for on his birthday, which as something he never really saw as a big deal. Nor did he ever see a reason to make a big deal out of it, but as long as Gilbert was there, the German had to try to humor his older brother and deal with huge parties with disastrous outcomes, which he had to clean up in the end.
He had flat out rejected the idea for a party at first, but Gilbert persisted, and even attempted to lure him with silly, trivial things, like beer. Ludwig would not budge, and the Prussian grew desperate, and with a sharp bite of his lip, promised to have Lovino come. Gilbert was well aware that Ludwig had become weary around the Italian, because his feelings had grown and he had begun to act on impulse, doing things he usually wound up regretting when Lovino snapped at him. The albino could obviously see how hard Ludwig was trying to constraint himself from doing some reckless act, but Gilbert could also see it was becoming more difficult for his younger brother to hold back.
Ludwig had tensed at the mere mention of Lovino. His mind was telling him to continue with his reluctance, that Gilbert was at the verge of giving up. His heart was telling him to agree, to go and see Lovino, because he knew it was what he really wanted to do. He gave a slight nod, his eyes closing shut regretting his choice as soon as Gilbert let out the cry of joy.
Gilbert took the liberty of taking care of all the details, setting everything up in a matter of hours. He had streamers hanging off the ceiling, snacks and drinks stacked up in the fridge, taking space. He had invited anyone he knew, and that included Lovino. Ludwig just sat back and cringed, knowing that he wouldn't only have to see Lovino and talk to him, but he would have to take care of the mess Gilbert would make. Not to mention he would probably have to drag his brother off the roof. Again.
Ludwig sat and watched his brother scurry around the room, refraining from standing up and fixing his brother dropped anything and placing it in the correct place. Gilbert had said he could take care of it all. Just as Gilbert was putting up the last of the semi-irritating streamers, there was a knock at the door. Ludwig flinched, the back of his mind warning him that it could be Lovino who was at the door. The German knew better than to assume Lovino would be the type to arrive early—especially not if it was for Ludwig—but part of him still hoped.
He sighed softly, going to stand until Gilbert dashed passed him, pushing him back into his seat, calling out, "I'll get it. You just sit tight!"
From his seat, Ludwig could hear the door being slammed open, crashing against the wall. He could hear muffled voices and his brother's laughter, then the scuffling sound of feet moving on the floor. Then, from the doorway, two bright, smiling faced emerged: Feliciano and Antonio.
Feliciano was the first to speak up. "Ve~ Hello Ludwig! How have you been? I haven't seen you much lately. Maybe we should hang out, after your birthday of course." He fluctuated from a happy mood to a glum one.
"What he means to say," Antonio cut in. "is happy birthday."
"Oh! It's your birthday! I almost forgot! Happy birthday!" The happy Italian jumped off his spot on the ground, still a few feet away from the unsuspecting Ludwig, and latched his arms around Ludwig's large frame. He grinned from ear to ear and laughed full-heatedly.
Ludwig stumbled from the sudden contact, but sighed knowing this was a normal occurrence, and pat the Italian on the head. "Thank you, Feliciano. You as well, Antonio." He glanced up at the Spaniard, who lifted his hand in a happy wave before heading off to some other part of the home with Gilbert, who could be heard chuckling as he headed down the hall.
He tuned back into Feliciano's garbled talk and caught out the ending of the sentence he had been uttering. "-said he would come later."
Ludwig blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry Feliciano; I didn't catch that last part. Do you think you can repeat it?"
Feliciano shot him a knowing smile—which did nothing but confuse Ludwig further because he frankly had nothing to hide, well as far as he knew. Feliciano spoke, sounding just as happy as he looked. "Of course! I said Lovino told me he would come later because he had something he had to take care of first. He wouldn't tell me what he was doing though..."
Ludwig tried not to blush at the mention of Lovino's name. Tried.
Date: October 3
Time: 4:18 (PM)
Lovino was torn. He was neither against nor for getting him a present. So there he stood, on a cool October morning in nothing but a thin sweater, looking into the window of a small antique shop. Ludwig like antiques, right? Lovino was crossed between walking into the quaint shop, or sprinting off and forgetting his whole plan. He had to swallow his pride. In slow, unsure steps, Lovino walked into the shop. And ran out as soon as he was approached by one of its workers.
"I'm so fucking stupid." He muttered to himself when he finally stopped running, a panting mess. "Why am I even getting him something?"
Because you lo-
'Yeah, I get it. Shut your trap.' Lovino thought bitterly. He was fine with saying he loved the blue-eyed German in his mind, but saying it out loud was on a different level all together. It was like admitting he actually cared about the German, and that what he felt for the German was nothing near platonic. No, he would never admit to something so... idiotic.
Lovino figured he should just forget about the sporadic plan and head to Ludwig's house, claiming he just didn't want to be around the potato-bastard. Yes, that sounded like a plausible excuse if it was coming from Lovino, but for some reason, he couldn't muster up the courage to leave. A part of him wanted to keep searching. A part of him wanted to be brave and have courage.
Grumbling Italian curses under his breath, Lovino kept walking. He passed each shop, glancing at the window displays in disinterest. Until he caught sight of a shelf of books behind one of the glass encasement's. Ludwig liked books, right? Granted he tended to lean towards a rather strange genre, the German still liked to read.
Olive eyes blinked slowly before Lovino's legs practically began moving of their own accord, walking into the dim book shop. From end to end, each wall was filled to the brim with books of different colors and sizes. The store was nice and cozy; it had a home-like feeling to it. Lovino slowly took in his surroundings and randomly walked up to a shelf and plucked a book right off, his eyes training over the hard cover book in interest.
It seemed bland, and Lovino couldn't make heads or tails of the name, but the cover was enough to give it away: it was a romance novel. The man and woman making out on the cover was enough of an indicator. Lovino wrinkled his nose in disgust and placed the book back, plucking out another. Another romance novel.
Glancing up, the brunette noticed the shelf he was standing in front of was labeled "Romance." He flushed and slowly walked off to another shelf, making sure it wasn't labeled anything he would be embarrassed to look at. He picked another book at random; satisfied that it would have nothing to do with romance.
It was a medium-sized book about the country of Germany. The words were printed in large letters on the cover and the scene depicted a nice looking German town. Lovino frowned at the cover before an idea filled his mind and he let a large grin fill up his features. It was perfect!
The Italian shot down the aisles of books, searching for what he wanted. Ah! There is was. He pulled out the book and examined the cover, satisfied. With a triumphant grin he walked over the register and smacked down the book on the table, successfully startling the cashier.
"Oh! S-sorry sir, are you done?" the woman blinked, her expression still slightly bewildered.
He nodded sharply, his lips still twisted into a smirk. "Yeah."
The woman picked up the book idly gazing at the cover for a second before charging Lovino. "Fifteen dollars and twenty cent, and eighty cents is your change." she handed his money. With a smile, she waved as he walked towards the door. "Thank you."
Lovino traveled through the chilly streets, a white plastic bag dangling in his grip. His breath could be seen in the coolness of the October morning, and his hands were numbing, but he had a little bump in his step. He couldn't wait to see the look on that potato-bastard's face when he received his 'present.'
Date: October 3
Time: 4:40 (PM)
Ludwig blinked at Lovino, who was scowling, waiting for the blond to move so he could walk inside. Silently, Ludwig did move out of the way, his icy blue eyes trained on Lovino's back as the Italian huffed and walked inside, pulling off his jacket and tossing it one the floor as he did so. He stared blankly at Ludwig before throwing himself on one the couches and tossing the plastic bag at the blond, who just barely caught it.
"What's this?" he asked, glancing in the bag, being greeted with a medium-sized bag wrapped up in white-and-green wrapping paper, and a nicely done red bow. He looked up at the older Italian in utter confusion and stared while Lovino casually reclined in the seat, staring blankly at the wall. "A present?"
Lovino's eyes snapped to meet Ludwig's gaze. "What the hell does it look like? No shit it's a gift."
"Erm..." The German was still more than confused as he pulled the package out of the bag and stared at it. "May I open it?"
"No! Not yet anyway. Save it for later." Ludwig didn't really like that smug look on Lovino's face, and he wondered what this present would have in store for him, if it even was a present.
Feliciano materialized in the room and incautiously threw himself at his brother joyously, smiling and laughing. His arms wriggled around Lovino's slender frame and he buried his head in Lovino's stomach. The elder Italian let out a surprised yelp and tried to pry his brother off.
"Argh!" Lovino growled, his nimble finger pulling at Feliciano's arms. "Get off me, idiot! This is uncomfortable!"
"But fratello," the younger brother yelped, a pout making its way to his lips. "You're here and I'm happy! I'm sure Tony and Gil will be happy too. And Ludwig! Right?"
The auburn-haired boy glanced at Ludwig for conformation, and the German quickly hid the bag behind his back, nodding sharply, willing his blush to fade. He didn't know why he hid it, he just didn't want others—especially Feliciano who tended to have a big mouth—to know about the gift. "O-of course, but don't you think you should get off him, Feliciano?"
At Ludwig's request, Feliciano complied, but not before loudly announcing of Lovino's arrival, which brought in the other occupants of the home to the living room in curiosity of what all the ruckus was about. Most, if not all of them, brightened up instantly.
"Lovi!" Antonio went to hug the Italian, earning his a rough shove in the chest, to which he responded to with a loud, "Ouch!" and a pout.
Francis was also there, having come while Lovino was busy with his present shopping. He sent a semi-perverted smirk at the Italian, which was returned with a finger held up high. And Gilbert... was just being Gilbert.
Ludwig had to admit that with all the affection and attention the Italian was receiving, he was a bit jealous that he couldn't give out the same affection. He was positive, without a doubt, he would receive strange looks if he gave the Italian any form of civil affection. Or even just made physical contact with him.
It took a while for the excitement to die down, but when it did, the group settled down into peacefulness and they lounged leisurely in chairs, casually conversing as they waited for others to arrive. It wasn't a tedious or boring task, and Ludwig found himself enjoying talking with them. He even managed to exchange a few civil words with Lovino without bringing forth an argument or a deep red blush. He was, so far, having a wonderfully lucky birthday.
"So Ludwig," Francis began. "How old will you be turning?"
"Twenty-one." He answered bluntly, leaning back in his seat.
"Ve~ Ludwig, you're so old! I'm only twenty. But Lovino is older than both of us, he's twenty-three!" Feliciano gushed happily, making sure to sneak in something about Lovino every time they spoke to each other. He felt like an amazing best friend, helping him find love.
"So what?" Lovino snorted. "The wine-bastard over there is almost twenty-five. And Toni is my age too."
"I take offense to that mon ami," Francis retorted. "And age is but a number after all."
Gilbert smirked, chuckling. "You just say that because you're screwing-"
"On another note," Francis began, cutting off Gilbert completely. "I heard you have had your eyes on my little Matthew, he's a good boy. I think of him as a brother you know."
"What's the problem? Mattie's almost as awesome as me. Plus," The albino man snorted. "You don't think of his-"
A knock cut him off and Francis shot up to get it at the same time as Gilbert. The pair made a mad dash to the entrance and Antonio stayed behind, grinning madly. Francis made it first and swung the wooden door open, revealing three faces: an annoyed one, a blank one, and a happy one. Arthur, Matthew, and Alfred.
"Oh! Sup Francis. Gil." Alfred grinned, stepping into the home and putting his arm around each of the man's shoulders.
"Good bloody day." Arthur nodded sharply and took the seat the used to occupy Gilbert.
"Hey! That's my-" Gilbert began, steadfast in his rising anger.
"Hey Gil."
He stopped short to grin wildly at Matthew. "Hi Mattie. How's my Birdie been?" He slipped out of Alfred's grasp and ruffled the blond boy's hair.
While Matthew and Gilbert held a steady conversation about this and that, Francis and Alfred were engrossed in talk about foods, Arthur and Spain picked a fight with each other and Feliciano attempted to break it up, the left Lovino and Ludwig, awkward and with absolutely nothing to talk about. So the pair just sat there, staring out in confusion, the thick air of awkwardness thrashing wildly around them.
"Erm... So," Ludwig began, growing tired of the silence. He decided to test his luck; See what he could get away with. "Can I open my gift now?"
"Not yet." he received a toothy smirk in return. "Not when the party is just getting started. It'll ruin all the damn fun. Wait until the party's over, bastard. Then open it."
His words, all in all, confused Ludwig to no end, but he nodded regardless. "All right..."
The awkward aura that surrounded them was still present, but far less prominent than it was before. In a prudent moment, Ludwig excused himself from Lovino's present to answer the door, seeing as more guests had arrived. It was Ivan and his sisters. They greeted him with kindness to some extent, wishing him a happy birthday as they made their way inside.
The home was beginning to look much more crowded and Gilbert had started to play some music.
In all the commotion and peace, Ludwig had almost completely forgotten this was his birthday party. And he had almost forgotten that it would also be his job to clean up the damn mess afterward, receiving a claim from Gilbert of, "It's not your birthday anymore, clean it up. Now, if you don't mind me, I have some awesome matters to attend to." That usually meant he was going to go hang out with Francis and Antonio, or Matthew.
The blond German chose to stay near the door entrance to wait for other party arrivers, and sure enough, the door rang soon enough, greeting him to the faces of Kiku, Yao, Im Song, and a few other familiar faces. They greeted him kindly and slipped inside, filling the rooms more. Soon people would have to file up the halls, and maybe even other rooms. The home wasn't huge after all.
Ludwig was starting to feel the slightest bit agitated with all the people his brother had invited over. Granted Ludwig knew and was on friendly terms with a majority of the guests, it was still tedious to find room for them. Hell, soon they would probably start to have to go outside; and it did not sit well with Ludwig to technically kick people out of his home on out to the chill of an October day. It wasn't very fair.
The doorbell rang again, and Ludwig went to go get it with an exasperated sigh. This was going to be a long night.
Date: October 3
Time: 6:30 (PM)
Ludwig sighed inwardly, retiring to another part of the home. Stiff legs carried him aimlessly around the home, dodging clumps of people as he walked. The house had filled up nicely, and luckily nobody got kicked out. Music was blasting loudly, resonating throughout the house, and a multitude of people were dancing along to the beat.
Ludwig casually walked around people as he passed through the once spacious living room and down into the crowded hall, still dodging bodies that were pressed up against the wall. Warning bells were ringing around his head, warning him that something was bound to end up broken.
As he walked on, a shoulder bumped into his arm and he turned to look into the eyes on Antonio.
"Oh, sorry Ludwig; I didn't mean to bump into you like that!" Antonio grinned. "I was just looking for Lovi!"
Ludwig gave an awkward cough and nodded as Antonio rushed past him. Things had been awkward for him, when he found out that Lovino actually used to have feelings for the Spaniard. It, to be frank, made him jealous and somewhat angered at the man. He had Lovino in the palm of his hands and he didn't even know. Ludwig was just glad Lovino had moved on.
What would have happened if Lovino had continued loving the Spaniard and Ludwig would have fallen for someone he knew he couldn't have? Of course, Ludwig was sure he still couldn't have the Italian because he absolutely hated him.
With a forlorn sigh Ludwig went about the house, making sure everything was still intact and that the bedrooms were free of any intoxicated couples who wanted privacy. He had to make sure nothing extreme happened at this party and he would have to replace something.
He also had to make sure to try to avoid Lovino at all possible times. The blond knew it was idiotic and childish, but he certainly didn't want to be caught up in another awkward moment with him. Nor did he want to get caught up in Lovino himself. The young man had some sort of hold on Ludwig, and the German didn't like it. He knew what was happening. But he sure as hell didn't like it.
Not one bit.
Date: October 4
Time: 14:36 (2:36 AM)
The house had been cleared of mostly every guest, save for a few close friends who decided to spend the night. It was the usual group of Feliciano, Alfred, Arthur, Francis, Matthew, Ivan, Antonio, and Lovino.
While Ludwig had been busy stuffing empty cups and plates with food scraps into a plastic trash bag, he hardly noticed Lovino walk up to him with a package in hand His gift. The Italian stopped in front of Ludwig, and – amazingly – patiently waited for him to glance up.
"Yes?" The blond looked up to face Lovino, his face successfully turning a lovely shade of pink that went unnoticed by the semi-oblivious Lovino. "Er… Lovino. What do you want?"
Lovino scowled and crossed his arms, turning his head to glance up at the wall next to Ludwig. "Your present, idiot. The party's over so I figured might as well get it over with now."
"Oh." Ludwig placed the garbage bag down on the ground and gently pulled the nicely wrapped package form Lovino's hand.
He curiously peeled off the wrapping paper off to reveal the book. Once he noticed the letters, and what they spelled out, he sighed. The Culture of Southern Italy. Of course. Though, Ludwig couldn't say it was a complete let down—seeing as he hadn't truly expected much from the gift (but he secretly had hoped), but there was just something the stuck at his heart strings. Lovino had actually taken the time to search for something for Ludwig, and buy it!
Despite him being slightly happy about the gift, he sent Lovino a blank look and thinned his lips to a deep frown. "Really Lovino, of all the things...?" Ludwig felt his heart practically skip a beat when Lovino flashed him a cocky grin.
"What?" The older Italian raised a thin brow in mock question. "I just gave you a book about the best part of earth, so don't give me that fucking frown!"
"Well, I suppose I should just be grateful you even bothered to get me a gift." Ludwig sighed, placing the book down on the table, absentmindedly flicking at an empty cup as he did so.
"Exactly! Damn right you should be grateful! You didn't even bother to get me a present on my birthday, bastard."
Ludwig choked down a gasp, remembering was he had almost done on Lovino's birthday when he found the Italian taking a nap. His face flushed again, turning a bright pink shade as he tried to hide his awkward discomfort. "R-right."
Ludwig picked up the bag and continued to pick up trash off the floor and tables, his eyes flicking back to Lovino - who was still watching him with a raised brow – occasionally. Not that he minded those piercing olive eyes on him; it was just that he had trouble keeping his composure with Lovino watching so intently.
"Well?" The Italian accented voice spoke.
"Well, what?" The blond asked, attempting to keep his voice from sounding strained.
"A fucking 'thank you' should be in order, dammit." The brunette crossed his arms tightly and sent a heated glare at Ludwig, who did his best not to waver at the intense gaze.
Just as Ludwig was about to speak, he was interrupted by Feliciano, who had peaked around the corner to disrupt their conversation. "Ve, when I say thank you, I usually hug the person. Luddy, you should hug my fratello as a thank you!" he exclaimed before disappearing back from around the corner.
Ludwig sent a questioning look at the spot where the younger Italian had been, before glancing curiously at Lovino.
"Don't even think about hugging me." Was the only thing Lovino said, his arms still crossed and his head turned away from Ludwig.
"I wasn't."
All right, right there Ludwig was lying. He had thought about hugging the Italian the moment Feliciano had brought it up. But it wasn't like he was really going to hug the brunette. If he did, he knew he would wind up with a bruise or two.
A/N – I did some foreshadowing in this chapter, and I must admit I'm proud of myself for that! Man, I have tons of little hints at pairings that, of corse will probablly never be revealed. I wonder if anyone caught on to which were the pairings.
I'm going to start taking the chapters at a slower pace since we're winding down to the last holiday/celebration of the story: Christmas! Now it will just be their normal day-to-day interactions. It'll still have the date and stuff so fret not!
Alright, I'm done here.
