A/N: Please enjoy this chapter! Review if you have the time and enjoyed it!
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Feliciano wandered around the area of the prison cells. He hadn't bothered to check in on Antonio's situation that day, certain that they hadn't called in the SS yet. There was no need to check on the Spaniard at all, so he waited until around midnight to sneak into the prison cell area to break Antonio out.
No one was around when he made his way down the long, empty hallway toward Antonio's cell. He hoped that no one would show up either. What he was doing was wrong, and he knew it. He could be taken prisoner for letting one go, but he couldn't just sit back and watch another person be sent away to a camp again, especially one so dear to Lovi…No, his mind was made up. He was going to be a real hero this time.
Once he got to Antonio's cell, he knew something was wrong. It reeked of blood and a bunch of other things. Was he absolutely sure he had gotten to the right cell? Or did he need to go down a couple more to get to Antonio's? Surely this couldn't be the cell of the smiling Spaniard he had just seen only the night before! If it was, why did it smell so terrible?
His eyes widened. The SS! Did they get to him?! Feliciano felt his heart begin to race as he rattled at the bars, seeing Antonio lying in a crumpled heap on the bunk.
"Antonio?" he weakly asked. He saw the heap move slightly, which meant that the Spaniard was still alive. But how alive was he? His stomach dropped into his gut. Feliciano wasn't sure he could handle this. He didn't know how alive Antonio was. Would he even make it out of the base?
"F-Feli?" he heard the Spaniard weakly ask. "P-Please tell me it's you…" Antonio's voice was barely above a whisper, and it was so pained, as if it was taking everything in him to speak.
"It's me, Antonio," Feliciano confirmed with a nod. "Please don't say another word. I'm going to save you, okay? Just hang in there."
"It's...too late...for me…" Antonio heaved. "D-Don't….waste time…."
"It won't be a waste of time, Antonio," the Italian insisted. "My brother loves you, and he needs you to come home to him. I'm doing this for Lovino, don't you get that?"
At the mention of Lovino, Antonio's head shot up. It were almost as if he were suddenly energized by the thought of returning back to Lovino. As if Lovino were a perfect reason to keep pushing through the hell his life had become that day.
"Feli…" he weakly said. "You….You have to….help me…."
"I will," Feliciano told him. "Just stay quiet, Antonio. I'm going to get you out of there, and I'm going to get you back to my home." He pulled a pin out of the breast pocket of his uniform and began to mess with the lock on the door. "Now hold on while I pick the lock on here."
As Feliciano fiddled with the lock, he listened closely for any signs of life coming their way. He knew that he had to get Antonio out as fast as he could, but he didn't know how fast he was going to be able to. Antonio seemed pretty bad off, and Feliciano could tell that he wouldn't be able to move too quickly. That was going to be the only real problem.
After all, Antonio was larger than Feliciano, being much older than the young Italian. There was no way Feliciano would be able to carry him or anything of that sort. Sure, he could help support him while they walked, but that was it.
The lock suddenly clicked and opened. Feliciano quickly removed it from the door and opened it, walking into the cell. The stench was even worse inside there. His nose wrinkled up in disgust as he tried his best not to breathe unless necessary.
"Let's go, Antonio," he quickly said, reaching his hand out toward the Spaniard. His eyes widened in horror when Antonio's hand reached for his. It was missing fingers! He felt as if he were going to vomit at any moment! "What happened?" he shakily asked.
"Them…" Antonio darkly answered, face clouding over in the pale moonlight. "They think I'm a resistance member…"
Feliciano felt disgusted with the military and even with himself for being a part of it. "I'm so sorry, Toni. I'm going to get you out of here right now. I swear it!" He turned around to see a tall figure standing in the doorway, though he couldn't see their face due to the shadows covering it. His heart skipped a beat as he stood there. "Th-This isn't…."
"What are you doing, Feliciano?" Ludwig asked, stepping out of the shadows and into the cell. "Are you really breaking a prisoner out? Do you know what will happen to you? You know that I need to report this, right?"
The Italian sat Antonio back on the bed and ran to Ludwig, tears in his eyes. "You can't!" he pleaded. "Ludwig, please! Please, you can't do this to me! To him!"
"And just why is he so important?" Ludwig asked him. "What makes him so special that we have to save him?"
Feliciano tried not to notice the fact that Ludwig used the word "we" instead of "you". He focused instead on the fact that Ludwig was asking for a reason to save Antonio. His mind needed to think quickly if he wanted to save the life of the Spaniard. What was something he could say that he knew would get through to Ludwig on how important it would be for him to save Antonio? And then it came to him.
"You don't understand!" Feliciano pleaded to his superior officer. "Ludwig, please! Just hear me out! This man right here, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, is my cousin! He wasn't supposed to end up here! You have to help me, Ludwig! Or at least don't tell them it was me!"
The Lieutenant stood there for a moment in silence. "Family, you say?" he asked. "And just how are you related to a Spaniard if you are pure Italian?"
"Okay, so maybe he's not related by blood, but he was raised in our family!" Feliciano pleaded. "You have to understand, I've known him since I was just a boy!" His eyes pleaded with Ludwig. "Please let me save him! My family will never forgive me if I let him die like this!"
Antonio lifted his head at the word "die", a panicked expression on his face. He began praying to himself in Spanish, hoping that by the grace of some sort of deity he would make it out of there that night. All he wanted was to make it back to Lovino.
As if to prove himself, Antonio suddenly stated in a strained voice, "He has an older brother named Lovino who looks like him. His grandfather, Roma Vargas, owns a small shop that they lived above when he was growing up in a small Italian village. His grandmother, Andriana Vargas, passed away almost a year ago. His parents passed away when he was an infant." His green eyes locked with Ludwig's blue ones. "Anything else?"
Ludwig stood there for a moment. His eyes looked as if they were sizing Antonio up. He didn't move a single muscle until he finally turned to face Feliciano. "We don't have much time. Feliciano, I'll go on ahead and out of the base. We will meet up down the road to the east, and I will take him the rest of the way from there."
"The rest of the way?" Feliciano asked him. It suddenly dawned on him. "We're saving my Toni?"
"Ja," Ludwig slowly answered. "But never again shall we do this. And you will owe me for this."
Feliciano nodded eagerly before hugging the Lieutenant. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he quietly cheered. "You have no idea how much this means to me!"
The Lieutenant sighed. "I'm pretty sure I do, but that's beside the point. I need to go and make sure that no one will see you. I'll be the distraction. Just keep your eyes on me, or try to."
The young Italian nodded. "Got it," he answered. He looked to the Spaniard. "Are you ready to go, Toni?" he asked.
Antonio weakly nodded his head in agreement as Feliciano slipped an arm around his waist to help support him. "I will make sure to tell Lovi of this," he weakly panted. "He... will know."
Feliciano looked to the Spaniard. "Don't talk, Toni. We can't afford to have you give us away, you know." He then turned to Ludwig. "Let's get going."
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It all happened so fast that Feliciano found himself outside before he knew it. Though there were times that he thought he was done for when he and Ludwig would round a corner and find a random soldier, but Ludwig would go out and distract them while Feliciano would wait for the soldier to leave, heart pounding in panic the whole time.
Antonio was starting to get heavy as his strength was leaving him. He was starting to lose consciousness as well. That wasn't good. He had to stay awake through these injuries, or else he may never wake again. And if he never woke again, that would mean heartbreak for Lovino, and Feliciano just couldn't handle that.
"Stay awake, Toni," Feliciano muttered to him. "You need to stay awake."
"I am," Antonio grumbled at him. "I just need to rest my eyes."
"No!" Feliciano commanded. "No resting your eyes, Antonio! If you do that, you may fall asleep, and that won't be good for anyone!"
"My hands hurt," Antonio sighed.
Feliciano began to feel nauseous once more. "Everything will be okay as long as you stay awake," he tried to assure the Spaniard. "You need to trust me on that."
"Trust you?" Antonio let out a bitter laugh. "I trusted you when you said those monsters wouldn't come for me, and now I'm missing fingers. You're going to leave me with another monster, Feliciano. Why should I trust you after you leave me?"
Feliciano felt his blood run cold. "I trust Ludwig," he answered.
"But why should I trust him just because you do?" Antonio asked him. "This Ludwig guy could hate me, for all you know. He may try to kill me on the way to wherever we're going."
"Ludwig wouldn't do that," the Italian answered. "Just trust me, Toni."
He sighed. "I don't know, Feli. I'm just about done with all of this trusting business."
Feliciano looked ahead of them and saw Ludwig in the distance. "Trust me for Lovi's sake," he finally said. "Do it for Lovi."
That shut the Spaniard up, and they continued the rest of the way to Ludwig in silence.
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Feliciano waited in the front room of the base for Ludwig to return. He was anxious to know what had been done about Antonio, and where his Lieutenant had taken him. All he could hope was that the Spaniard was safe and sound, getting the medical attention that he needed. His heart was pounding wildly in his chest as he sat on the bench by the door, waiting for the familiar blond to walk in.
He perked up a bit as the door opened and Ludwig walked in. His bronze eyes took in the familiar German as he jumped up to hug him. Feliciano wrapped his arms around Ludwig in excitement. "You did it!" he cried out excitedly.
"Keep your voice down!" Ludwig hissed at him. "Of course I did it. What kind of man do you take me for, Feliciano?" He smiled at the look of relief on the Italian's face. "He's safe now. Just know that much."
"What could I ever do to repay you?" Feliciano asked him, eyes wide and excited. "I'll do anything for you! Anything at all!" His hands grasped at Ludwig's. "I owe you everything for this!"
At that moment, Ludwig did not wish to speak of debt, for he was stressed out to his limit. He wanted to release the stress inside of him in the way he had the night before. But the question was, how could he initiate that? What could he possibly do to get Feliciano to do what he did last night? He didn't want to just come out and ask him, not wanting to seem desperate for it. He also didn't want to seem as if he expected it from him.
"Come with me, and allow me to thank you properly," Feliciano told him. He began to lead the way outside of the base. "Follow me, Ludwig." His smile led the Lieutenant to follow him out of the base and to the place where he watched the sunrise just that morning. "Here we are," he said as they arrived.
"What are we doing here?" Ludwig asked, looking to the base in the distance. He didn't know why they were so far away from the base.
"This is so no one will find us or see us," Feliciano told him. "Now, please, allow me to relieve your stress from tonight." He winked at Ludwig. "It's the least I could do for what you did for me tonight, Ludwig."
The German felt his cheeks flush a bright red, but it wasn't noticeable in the pale moonlight. "I would appreciate that," he finally said after a moment of gathering his bearings. "How would you like to start this?" He stood there awkwardly for a moment, not really knowing what to do until the young Major stepped over to him. "So you're initiating?"
"Ludwig," Feliciano said in a low voice. He put a finger to the Lieutenant's lips. "Stop talking." His bronze eyes winked at Ludwig. "I can handle this on my own." The Major then dropped to his knees before him and began to unbutton Ludwig's pants.
The Lieutenant gasped out when he felt Feliciano's fingers brush against his sensitive length. He knew this was going to make his time that night worth it. His fingers found their way into Feliciano's hair, finding it rather soft. "Feliciano," he softly sighed out.
Enjoying the sound of his name coming from Ludwig's lips, Feliciano sighed softly, working a little faster on Ludwig's pants. He wanted to please Ludwig even more, now that he had the Lieutenant's encouragement. His fingers finally finished up on Ludwig's pants and unleashed his length, which was starting to erect itself. It made him happy that he could turn Ludwig on so much just by doing something so simple.
"Are you ready?" Feliciano asked, looking up at him.
With Feliciano looking up at him like that, how could Ludwig say no? He simply nodded at Feliciano and nearly fell, growing weak in his knees when he felt Feliciano's mouth close around his length. How was it that Feliciano knew exactly what to do? What did these sorts of acts between him and Feliciano mean? Were they really just stress relief? Was that really all Ludwig wanted them to be? Would he really want anyone else to do something like this with him?
It was then that he realized that it was Feliciano only that he wanted to do things like this with. He tried to picture someone else, and felt himself becoming less interested before reminding himself that it was Feliciano doing it. His legs felt weak at the thought of Feliciano. What was going on in his head? Men weren't supposed to think of other men like that, were they? But what was so wrong about him thinking of Feliciano in that way if it was just kept between them?
Feliciano knew what he was doing. He wanted to make Ludwig feel the best that he could make him feel. There was nothing he wanted more.
After Ludwig hit his climax, he sat on the ground, panting as Feliciano cleaned himself off. His head was spinning with lust and thoughts of Feliciano. Was this really okay? Was it okay for him to think of Feliciano in lustful ways? Did Feliciano want to be thought of in those ways by him? Was that okay?
Feliciano looked over at Ludwig, sitting down next to him. "What are you thinking about, Ludwig?" he asked him. "You're being really quiet tonight. It's concerning. Did I do something wrong?"
"You did nothing wrong," Ludwig quietly answered. "If I'm honest, I think it's me who is doing things wrong."
"What do you mean?" Feliciano asked. He cocked his head to the side in confusion. "I guess I don't understand what you mean. You're not exactly making the most of sense, if I'm being honest."
"How can I make better sense?" Ludwig asked, looking over at the Italian. "Just say the word, and I'll do it."
Feliciano thought for a moment. "I want you to show me what's going on in your head. Actions speak louder than words, and some words are words that I don't understand. It's kind of how I don't understand how you could possibly be doing anything wrong when you're not doing anything at all, if you know what I'm saying." He sighed. "And now look at me. I'm rambling." He frowned, wishing there was a better way to get his point across. "But anyway, I just feel as if there could be a better way for you to explain all of this to me."
"So you think my actions would speak louder than my words?" Ludwig asked him. He shrugged. "Fine. Then I will show you what is going on in mein head through my actions."
Without another word, Ludwig grabbed Feliciano by the waist and moved the Italian to his lap before kissing him passionately. He didn't know why he felt so much lust for the Italian, but he felt as if he were in love with him. He wanted to be with Feliciano at all times. That was why he had followed him to the prison cells that night. That was why he couldn't say no to helping bust Antonio out. He was wrapped around Feliciano's finger, and there was no way he could ever escape that.
The young Italian's eyes opened wide in surprise, but then closed as he slid his arms around Ludwig's shoulders and kissed him back. He had been waiting for something like this for so long, but he felt as if it would never happen, knowing Ludwig's stance on homosexuality. But now it was finally real. All Feliciano could do was pray that this wasn't a dream.
When they finally broke apart, Feliciano looked into Ludwig's blue eyes, trying to find a hint of joking in there, but all he could see was love. He was confused. When had Ludwig fallen in love with him? How had that happened? Something like this had never happened to the Italian before.
"Ludwig, are you all right?" he asked, just to make sure that his Lieutenant was feeling okay. After all, he didn't want to make the mistake of confessing his love to him if Ludwig wasn't completely sure that he loved him.
"I haven't felt this great in a long time," Ludwig answered, catching his breath.
Feliciano smiled at him. "I'm glad to hear that," he told him. "Listen, Ludwig, there's something I need to tell you."
"Allow me to speak first," Ludwig responded with.
"Very well," the Italian answered with a nod. "You go first then."
"I never once thought I was interested in men until you came along, Feliciano," Ludwig began. "You have turned my world upside down. Ever since your first day when you defied my command and I made you run, that was when I first started noticing you for who you are. And now, I just want to say one thing. I think I'm in love with you."
Feliciano felt his heart skip a beat in his chest. There it was. Ludwig had just confessed his love to him, and it was just as wonderful as he had always imagined that it would be. In fact, it was even more wonderful that he could have ever imagined. His eyes had widened and he felt his face heating up.
"You think you're in love with me?" Feliciano asked.
"Look, I know it sounds silly, but-"
Without another word, Feliciano pressed his lips to Ludwig's, shutting him up. He just wanted to kiss Ludwig's problems and cares away. He wanted to be everything to Ludwig, just like how Ludwig was everything to him. There was nothing he had wanted more than to hear those words from him.
"I love you too," Feliciano told him when they broke apart. "For as long as I've known you."
Ludwig couldn't do anything but smile. After all, how lucky could they both seem to be, to be in love with each other? But then again, how unfortunate, considering they were both men?
