A/N: Hi. :) I finally have enough time to continue updating. Sorry for the incredibly long wait.
Chapter Ten
To say that Feliciano was scared was an understatement. He was petrified and with good reason. After all, it's not every day that one has to sneak into the house of a tall, very muscular German (who was probably a little bit pissed at him) and his over-protective brother who'd already threatened to kill him if he turned up again.
Nevertheless, it had to be done. With a sigh, the Italian started to clamber through Ludwig's window. Like hell he would go through the front door and past Gilbert. Only a fool would take on Prussia after being threatened by him. It took a while, but finally Feliciano flopped into the German's room. To the Italian's relief, neither Ludwig nor Gilbert were there. He wanted to make up with Ludwig, wanted to see him get better, but the idea of apologising to the man? That scared him shitless.
The sound of footsteps approaching the room made him tremble slightly as he looked down guiltily. He had to do it, he had to apologise... He had to tell him what he truly felt.
"Gott verdammt, West! I told you not to overstrain yourself! Now I have to re-bandage your-" The door flung open and Gilbert paused mid-sentence as he stared at Feliciano. The Italian gulped before bursting into tears.
"I'm sorry! Mi dispiace! I didn't mean it! Don't hit me! Or kill me! Ve- I surrender!" Feliciano yelped as the Prussian pinned him against the wall with a snarl of rage.
"I told you to stay the fuck away from mein bruder! He's messed up enough as it is without you interfering! Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you! Because of you, Ludwig almost froze to death!" Gilbert shouted at the sobbing Italian.
"Please! I didn't mean any of it! I'm so sorry! Please don't hurt me! I have relatives in East-" Feliciano's begging and pleading was cut off by Ludwig entering the room.
"Bruder, what's-" The German paused as he took in the scene in front of him. His brother was shaking with anger as he held a sobbing Feliciano two feet off the ground and against his bedroom wall. "...Italy?" He murmured cautiously, his face froze in an emotionless mask.
"Sí! Sí! Please, Luddy! Help me!" The Italian begged. Gilbert swore in German before pulling back a fist to punch the terrified Italian. Feliciano yelped and flinched, closing his eyes to wait for the blow.
It didn't come though and with a surprised "Ve?", he opened his eyes. Ludwig was holding Gilbert's raised fist in place and keeping the punch from reaching his former ally. "...Luddy?"
The German ignored him, keeping his eyes focused on his brother's the whole time. "Let him go, bruder..." Ludwig pleaded quietly. Gilbert's blood red eyes had a hint of confusion in them as they refused to drop from the blue gaze of his little brother.
"But, West... He hurt you... Why would you want me to let him get away with it?" Gilbert asked quietly. His tight grip on the Italian lessened slightly.
"He came here for a reason. It would be unfair to attack him without hearing him out..." Ludwig explained, his voice quiet. Feliciano bit back a yelp when Gilbert rolled his eyes but dropped him onto the floor.
"You've grown soft, West..." Gilbert muttered as he shook his head. He cast a glance down at Ludwig's wrist and swore loudly. The bandage around his right wrist was stained red. "Fuck, West! Don't you ever listen to me? Stop over-exerting yourself! I'll go grab the bandages, wait here with Italy!"
He made to leave the room but paused at the door to glare at Feliciano, who started cowering before leaping behind Ludwig. "If you hurt him in any way, I'll make you wish for death!" The Prussian growled angrily before rushing off to find the bandages.
There was an awkward silence between the German and the Italian for a moment as they both avoided the other's eyes. It was Feliciano who broke it.
"Are you doing all right?" He asked timidly. Ludwig finally met his eyes with a sigh.
"Why are you here, Italy?" The German asked quietly. He ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to distract himself from the Italian in front of him. Feliciano winced as he saw the stained bandage wrapped around his old ally's wrist.
"Ve? Your wrist? What-?" He murmured grabbing the man's arm to examine it. Ludwig winced slightly at the pressure.
"I- I tried to cook Gil some breakfast... To thank him for everything he's done for me... Unfortunately I tore some of the stitches whilst reaching for one of the pans." Ludwig explained with a sheepish grin. It quickly vanished as he re-asked his question. "Why are you here, Italy?"
The Italian dropped the man's arm as well as his gaze, preferring to stare guiltily at his shoes. "...I came to apologise... And to explain myself... I never meant for you to hear me, especially not that part!" Ludwig froze, his entire frame tensing up.
Feliciano stopped talking and met Ludwig's panicked eyes. "Please just listen? I was confused. I didn't know what to think anymore, I hated you for what you did to me but I couldn't stop myself from... from... Dio dannezione!" The Italian swore angrily, hating how he couldn't bring the words past his lips. Tears stung his eyes as the frustration grew.
Ludwig's face had lost its cold mask, instead displaying all the fear and pain he'd been bottling up. Suddenly, the words didn't matter to Feliciano. If he couldn't say it he'd show it! The Italian grabbed the taller blonde's shoulders in a firm grip as he stood on his toes and pressed his lips to Ludwig's.
The German froze at first, shock registering on his face as Feliciano kissed him. After a moment though his lips began to move against the slight brunette's. His hands moved from his sides to wrap themselves around Feliciano's waist.
They remained like that for close to a minute before a loud cough drew their attention. They blushed fiercely as they leapt apart to face the Prussian. Gilbert chose to ignore the Italian as he walked up to Ludwig, throwing the first aid kit onto the bed as he grabbed his brother's arm and gently unwound the bandage.
All three of the nation's winced at the sight of the wound. The jagged line running up Ludwig's arm was red and swollen where it wasn't bleeding. "Damn it, West! I told you we had to clean it more often! You're going to need more antibiotics to clean this infection up!" Gilbert swore. "You might want to sit down... This will sting a bit," He added tenderly as an afterthought.
The German nodded and sat warily on the bed, doing his best to keep the blood from his wound from staining anything. Gilbert gave his brother an apologetic glance as he poured some antiseptic onto a cloth and pressed it to the cut. Ludwig bit his lip to hold back a scream as the antiseptic stung where it ran into the gash.
"Sorry... almost done." Gilbert murmured as he cleaned the wound. His brother sat stock still and rigid as he did his best to wipe the blood away without hurting Ludwig. He sighed with relief when he was able to throw the cloth to the floor and apply a fresh bandage. He really hated having to clean the wounds like that. He hated hurting his brother.
"Ve? Are you okay, Luddy?" Feliciano asked with a nervous glance at Gilbert. The Prussian ignored him, which the Italian took as a good sign.
"Ja..." Ludwig hissed through clenched teeth. He held out his other wrist to his brother, whose eyes widened.
"Are you sure you want me to clean that one too?" Gilbert asked cautiously. Normally, there was at least a day's gap before cleaning the other wound. Ludwig glared at him before giving a resigned sigh.
"Just do it, bruder. It needs to be done..." He growled. His right wrist was still stinging from the antiseptic.
"...Fine. I'm sorry 'bout this, West..." Gilbert said apologetically as he slowly unwound the other bandage. His brother's wrist was inflamed and scarlet around the cut. Gilbert sighed as he got some more antiseptic. "You're going to need to get a doctor to look at that..." Ludwig just rolled his eyes at his brother's observation.
The German couldn't hold back a whimper as the antiseptic was pressed against the wound, the area more sensitive due to the slight infection. Feliciano slipped his hand into Ludwig's other hand, wincing slightly as it was crushed by the German's pained grip.
"Sorry, bruder... Just a little more..." Gilbert reassured. He hadn't missed what the Italian had done and he wasn't happy with it, but at least gave it Ludwig a small distraction from the sting of the antiseptic.
He also didn't miss the way Feliciano kissed away the small tears collecting by the blonde's blue eyes. He would have thought it sweet if he didn't have a grudge against the Italian.
"Italy, I need to talk to you!" Gilbert growled quietly as he walked away from his brother's room. After a lot of insistence on the Prussian's part, the German had agreed to rest for an hour or so.
"Ve? Sure, G-Prussia," The Italian murmured warily. "What about?"
"About what the hell it is you plan on doing to mein bruder!" Gilbert snarled angrily. Feliciano's eyes widened fearfully at the look on his face.
"Ve? I- I'm not going to hurt him if that's what you're asking... I- I think I might..." The Italian said quietly, his voice fading to a whisper.
"Might what? Hate him? Love him? Speak up, gott verdammt!"
"I think I might love him, okay!" Feliciano snapped in a rare show of bravery. Gilbert's eyes widened at the Italian's unexpected outburst.
There was a long silence. Suddenly, Gilbert punched a nearby wall with a frustrated scream. Feliciano jumped back in surprise and fear. Gilbert stayed in that position for a few moments, leaning against the wall and panting slightly. Finally, the albino moved back and leaned against the same wall that he had just punched. He sighed and covered his face with his hand.
"Well, fick." He groaned from behind his hand. "Fick, fick, fick." After a while, he uncovered his face and glared at Feliciano. "You know what? Fine. Fine. I'll give you another chance, but if you hurt him again, I'll make you wish for death!"
"...Ve? You don't want to shout at me?" Feliciano asked nervously.
The Prussian sighed. "No, Feli. You're forgiven. For now, at least... Do you want to dump your stuff in your room or should I bring it up for you?" Gilbert asked. Feliciano blinked in shock at the unusual offer of actually doing something for another living being. Prussia and courteous did not belong in the same sentence.
"Um... I don't actually have my stuff here..." The Italian said with a sheepish grin. "Can I call Lovi and ask him to bring my stuff?"
"I'll do it. You go stay with West. I seriously doubt that he's sleeping like I told him to..." The Prussian chuckled as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Feliciano gave a cheerful grin as he ran back to the German's room.
Gilbert couldn't help but chuckle again as he scrolled through his contacts to find Lovino's number. A part of him (that wasn't hating the Italian) had missed the excitable brunette. He pressed dial and lounged against the wall while he waited for the Southern Italian to pick up. It didn't take long.
"You fucking bastard! You killed him, didn't you?! You fucking killed my little brother!" Lovino shouted. "How could you?! He was going to apolo-" His shouts turned to sobs as he envisioned his little brother's fate.
Gilbert rolled his eyes, even though he knew Romano wouldn't see. "Dude, he's fine! He's just upstairs with Ludwig, so I offered to call you to ask you to bring him some clothes!" The Italy brothers could be so idiotic at times...
"Liar! You killed him!" Gilbert sighed frustratedly.
"No, I didn't! Look, I'm just going to go put him on the phone. Maybe then you'll stop being an idiot!"
"Damn... I got blood on your shirt... Sorry about that," Ludwig murmured quietly as he saw the streak of blood on the back of Feliciano's shirt. It must have gotten on him when they kissed...
"Ve?" Feliciano asked quietly as he tried to turn and see the stain in question. "No problem, Luddy. It was an old shirt, anyways. I'll grab a new one when my brother gets here." He chuckled as he pulled the shirt over his head. Ludwig blushed slightly and started to look away until he caught sight of the scars on the Italian's chest. He tenderly ran his thumb along the circular marks.
"I should have killed the one responsible for this..." He muttered sadly. Feliciano's eyes widened.
"Don't you dare say that! I don't care what you did, or how you feel about it! Don't you ever try to kill yourself again!" The Italian begged. A small tear ran down his cheek at the thought of Ludwig trying-and succeeding-in his plan to die.
The German cocked his head to the side before running his finger against the lone tear, brushing it away from the Italian's face. "I meant the soldier, Feli. The soldier who shot you before I could stop him... I reached him too late..." Ludwig explained sadly.
"Ve? You were telling the truth when you said that? But-It was an excuse, wasn't it?" Feliciano murmured, feeling guilty. Was all the anger and hurt between them due to a misunderstanding?
"I would never lie to you, Feli... Never! I'd die before that happened!" The German said seriously, cupping Feliciano's face with his hand to look into his amber eyes. There was an unspoken promise in the German's gaze. I will never hurt you...
"Dio...I'm so sorry, Luddy! I should have believed you..." The Italian pressed his lips to Ludwig's, trying to pour his apology into the kiss. Ludwig's lips had just started to move against his own when the door opened.
"Hey, Feli! Your idiot of a brother doesn't-Oh, fuck! Is it so difficult to lock the goddamn door?!" Gilbert shouted, exaggerating his surprise. Feliciano leapt away from Ludwig with a blush.
"Bruder, it's not what it looks like!" Ludwig tried to explain.
"Ve! Gil, it's nothing! I swear!" Feliciano shouted nervously.
"Oh, really? 'Cause it looks like Feliciano's missing some clothes and was making out with you, West! Seriously, bruder. If you want to fuck him, PLEASE lock the door or something!" Gilbert said, eyes shining with amusement.
On the other end of the line, Lovino quickly hung up. Whatever his very much alive brother was doing, he didn't want to know...