Author's note: Sorry I couldn't get this done sooner. I spent yesterday watching Super 8, browsing youtube, putting up christmas decorations, and plucking my eyebrows until they were nearly gone.
Okay and a side note I fucked up the timing for the group activities. I said they were on Monday, Wedneday and Friday, but I started them on a Tuesday. I'll try not to let something like this happen again.
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and alerted. And I don't own anything.
The next couple of days were a bit of a bore. Ludwig was beginning to set into the motions of what he would be doing for the next couple of months. However, he was able to procure a piece of paper and pencil in the craft area and began to make a list of all the things he knew about Feliciano.
1. Likes pasta.
2. What the hell is with that curl?
3. Has scars on arms.
4. Has tried to commit suicide.
5. Wants to be an artist.
6. Takes a lot of medicine.
7. Is gay.
It wasn't a lot, but it was enough for now. Feliciano seemed to notice that he was trying to figure him out even if he didn't directly say it. They still talked very often, but it seemed like an act. So Ludwig decided it was only fair that he wouldn't let him in his head either. Thus they spent their time talking about silly subjects like pasta, dogs, art and music among others. Ludwig really didn't have much to say on those topics but he decided to let Feliciano do his thing.
Ludwig did spend the next group session trying to get to know the other kids. Rather than formally talking they got to play a board game, appropriately it was Life. Ludwig surprisingly had a lot of fun playing the game and had almost forgotten about where he and the other kids were at. Kiku had even broken out of his reserved state and Ludwig was sure that Feliciano was genuinely laughing with the rest of them. It was probably the most fun Ludwig had had in a long time.
During his visit with Doctor Braginski, he'd told him that his current distraction was trying to get to know the other kids here, which was only half-lying. The Doctor didn't question him, but said that knowing the kids here would be only temporary and he'd still need to get a hobby eventually. Ludwig still had no idea on what he would be able to for a hobby once he got out of here, but he had another two months to figure that out. The rest of that session had been spent discussing typical things like why he had cut, things he could do instead of cutting, and the like. Ludwig didn't get much out of it, but decided that the less he said to this Doctor the better.
The next visit hadn't been any different to the previous one. Ludwig decided that these were just motions that they went through just to make sure he was stable enough. It made enough sense as they wouldn't start poking and prodding at someone who would run off and try to do something stupid. Then it made Ludwig feel anxious as to what the real sessions would be like. How far would this man want to dig into his personal life and whatever else?
The situation with shaving had been solved as well. He could shave, but only in front of one of the men in white. He couldn't image what damage a shaving razor would do, the most it would provide would be little paper cuts, but that probably wasn't the best thing to bring up if he wanted the hospital workers off his back. The cheap razors couldn't provide him with quite the same shave than the razor he had home could provide, but it was better than having a beard. Feliciano even came with him to shave, which was an almost comical sight. Who could image a beard on a baby face like his?
Now it was Thursday afternoon and he was eating lunch with Feliciano. Today's topic of discussion was strangely enough Doctor Braginski's nose.
"Ve, it's just so big and round!" Feliciano laughed out. "I don't I've ever seen a nose like that since I've come here!" Ludwig chuckled a bit, it was quite the odd sound for him.
"Oh come on, it's not that awkward. It's large, yes, but what's with that curl sticking out of your head?" Ludwig raised his hand and pointed to it with his fork. Feliciano raised his hand and covered it in mock-surprise.
"Ve, you don't like it Ludi?" He drawled out with a goofy whine that Ludwig couldn't help but to smile at.
"No, no, I do like it. I like it a lot," Ludwig said with a blush. Why was he acting so goofy? Was it the medication? "I think it really suits you. Do you style it like that or is it natural?"
"Do you really, ve?" Feliciano said. Ludwig nodded. Feliciano gave it one more touch before returning his attention back to Ludwig. "Ve, it's been growing like that for as long as I could remember. My brother even has one that looks just like it, except his grows on the opposite side." Hmm, so he has a brother? That was nice to know. Feliciano's eyes flashed with surprise when he realized what he had said. Ludwig sighed. He hated it when he did that. True that they had only known each other for a few days, but Ludwig really wished that Feliciano would see that he wanted to be his friend.
"I have a brother too." Ludwig said, maybe this would level the field in Feliciano's mind. Then again he didn't mind talking about his brother. "His name is Gilbert."
"Ve, is he older or younger?" Feliciano asked in earnest.
"He's older than me. He was born about a year and eight months before me." Ludwig said back.
"Ve, my brother is older than me too! Except he's only older by ten minutes, but it still counts!" Ludwig's eyes widened in surprise.
"You're a twin?" Feliciano nodded. It made him wonder what his twin brother was like. Did they act the same? Did they look the same? Was he gay too? He always wondered if a set of twins would both be gay… Again the look of regret passed through his eyes, except it was deeper. Perhaps he missed his brother?
"Well I think my brother is coming tomorrow for the visiting hours." Ludwig said. "You can come with me tomorrow if you want to meet him."
"Really Ludi? That would be fun!" He said with bright eyes, which turned soon mischievous. "Ve, I wonder if your brother has any funny stories about you." Ludwig let out a loud laugh.
"You wish pasta head!" Another unfunny joke, but Feliciano laughed all the same.
Later that evening Ludwig got introduced to more people via Feliciano. It ends up that a group of kids in the Adolescent sector got together on Thursday nights to play card games. Tonight's game was go fish, simple enough for Ludwig. Gathered at the table were many kids, a few of which Ludwig already knew, such as Lili, Toris, and Kiku. There were also a few other people.
One of them was a boy that was even taller than Ludwig himself. He might have been the same age as him, but who could tell with this guy? He had short, straw colored hair and blue eyes that were behind square glasses. All that he could get out of his thick accent was the name "Berwald". Berwald seemed to be incredibly shy, so he might have been here for a social disorder. Then there was a girl of about 16 with long pig-tails and tan skin. She was very thin and probably here because of an eating disorder. She had soft mature voice and her name had been Michelle. The last person was another Asian boy. He had brown eyes and long hair that was kept in a ponytail He might have been Chinese because his name was "Yao Wang" and seemed a tad scared of Ludwig. Maybe it had been because he was a big guy, or perhaps it was because of social or anxiety disorder.
The group had chattered and joked like they were normal teenagers which had surprised Ludwig. It also surprised him by how accepting they were of him. By the end of the first round he was laughing along with them like they've known each other for years. Ludwig would've almost said it was better than the kids at school, but he really couldn't make that comparison since he didn't really know them at all.
They had gotten through four more round of Go Fish before the men in white came and said that they had to go back to their rooms. They put up the cards, said good night, and left to their respective rooms.
"Ve, what do you think Ludi?" Feliciano asked as they walked down the hallway. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, I did. Thanks for inviting me Feli," Ludwig had said in response. Feliciano smiled back.
"Ve, it was nothing!" Feliciano chirped. Ludwig shook his head.
"No, it wasn't nothing. It was something," he said. Feliciano just nodded in understanding.
They didn't say much when they had gotten to their room. They brushed their teeth and crawled into the beds (after Ludwig had turned the light out of course). They said their good nights and tried to get to sleep.
Ludwig's mind, however, decided that now would be a good time to wander about. Why did it have to be now that was beginning to make friends? Was he not good enough for people out in the normal world? Were the only people that were ever going to like him be a bunch of skinny girls and depressed people? What would his father say? What would his brother say? Would Gilbert even come tomorrow? Did he think that he was crazy and deserved to be here? Would he be mad at him for the way they departed on Monday? Would he ever want to see him again or was it better that he was gone?
He was snapped out of his inner mental storm by moisture in his eyes and a hand on his cheek. He had looked up to see that Feliciano was sitting on the side of bed wiping the tears that he didn't even know that were there.
"Ve Ludi, it's okay," he cooed while continuing to wipe his face. Ludwig would have probably been embarrassed if he weren't in awe of this sentiment. Feliciano continued to say things to him while Ludwig's breath evened out. He didn't even realize that his breathing pattern had been so screwed up until he was gasping for breath. Feliciano's hands lingered by his face until after he had calmed down and stayed there for even longer.
"You okay now?" Ludwig couldn't manage a proper response, so he opted for nodding instead. Feliciano smiled back. Then to Ludwig's surprise, he had given him a quick kiss on the forehead, before Feliciano scampered off to his bed. Ludwig was glad that it was too dark for anyone to see him blush, and he fell asleep to thought that he'd never wash his forehead again.
Okay so new characters! I put in Sweden for Forever Wingless, and also because he was orginally a contestant for being in Ludwig's teen group. I put in Seychelles because i wanted to be in another girl and thought that she would be fun. And Canada is there because I just needed someone else. We also get our first mentioning of Lovino, who will come in eventually so dodn't worry about that Lovi lovers. You just need to wait. :)
