Disclaimer: If I owned Hetalia, World Series would have included the scene in the Manga, where Canada chewed out America. I love that moment 3
A/N: Welcome back! *is said with all the enthusiasm in the world, much like Nanako from Persona 4* Oh yeah, my nerdy, video game addicted self went there! Shoot me a message, if you got the joke; I always love talking to people about the things I like. Now that I've made myself sound creepy... *ahem* Let's get on with the chapter!
Chapter 10: A day to stop and think of all things, we are thankful for; part 1
20th November, 1968
It was almost frightening, how quickly four whole months zipped on by; feeling like only one had really transpired. Yet here we were, November Twentieth already upon us, and looming over me like a great, big shadow. In just four short days, Thanksgiving would be here, and I was not entirely excited to be celebrating it...
Don't get me wrong, I had no offense against such an American Holiday. What I was dreading the most, was having to spend it with him. And by him, I meant Romano; that smart mouthed bastard got on every one of my last nerves. But, I had to play nice for Feliciano's sake, because I liked Feliciano; and I wasn't going to let some thing this childish and stupid ruin our friendship.
Well, I thought to myself, at least Vash would be there- for Feliciano insisted he be invited, so the two could finally meet. I was a little afraid that my Bruder might get the wrong idea about Feliciano and I, so I was a little reluctant for them to meet face to face. The fact that this even worried me, caused me to think upon how I felt about that spacey Italian. Sure I liked him as a friend, and there was a large amount of affection for him inside my heart, but... was there some thing else?
Some times I caught myself staring at him more than a friend really should. My skin grew hot every time we touched, and my heart would beat a little too fast for my liking. I began to feel even more shy and awkward around him whenever we were alone. Were these merely the feelings one experienced when having a best friend, or was I starting to become attracted to Feliciano?
I shook my head, not in the mood to decipher my cryptic feelings. Besides, I had more important things to focus on; like learning how to make sweet potato casserole.
21st November, 1968
"Good morning, Ludwig!" Feliciano greeted me at the breakfast table, food already served and steaming hot, upon two plates. The smell of potatoes and sausage made my stomach roar in excitement over the thought of food, especially with such a homey scent filling the air. For the briefest moment, I was standing in the kitchen back home in Germany, my Mother frying up wurst and potato cakes and wearing her favorite orange apron, and a smile.
"Good morning Feliciano," I replied, smiling warmly at the cute Italian. "You didn't have to make me breakfast, but I greatly appreciate it." I took my usual seat, right across from Feliciano, still in my pajamas. The first couple weeks I had been too embarrassed to be seen in my sleeping clothes, with my hair down and falling haphazardly across my forehead; but by now, I was over it.
"It was no problem at all Ludi, I hope everything tastes delicious!" Feliciano replied, happily digging into his own breakfast. I looked down to find my plate loaded with two fried eggs, a couple gigantic links of sausage, and a perfectly crisp and golden hashbrown. I speared one of the sausage links mercilessly, then proceeded to devour the richly spiced meat.
Chewing slowly, I reveled in how every spice danced across my tongue, combining perfectly with just the right amount of fatty juices. Then I took a bite of egg, the rich golden yolk bursting, oozing out liquid sunshine. To say the meal was delicious, would be an understatement. "Do you like it Ludi?" Feliciano asked, an anxious look set into his normally cheerful features.
"Ja, of course I do!" I replied simply, "Your cooking is alvays wunderbar." A bright smile finally spread across Feliciano's face, making his eyes sparkle and his cheeks flush a soft pink.
"Yay! Then I hope you don't mind, but I packed you some lunch today, that way you have some thing to eat besides take-out." He made a face, seemingly displeased with the thought of food being prepared in such a distasteful and cheap manner.
I chuckled softly, amused by how purely Italian he really was. "Thank you again Feliciano, vith you around, I shall never go hungry." He seemed to enjoy the compliment, if his cheery smile growing even brighter was any indication. We spent the rest of the morning with frivolous banter, and copious amounts of laughter.
My fingers tapped an idle rhythm against a wooden table top, as I watched my lunch turn in lazy circles inside the companies microwave. The scent of basil and oregano filled the air, mixing with tomatoes, cheese, and noodles. My mouth began to water slightly, anticipating the delicious meal that was to come.
"Wow man, that smells super yummy!" Alfred declared, coming up behind me and resting his elbow against my arm in a rather companionable fashion. "Who would've guessed our serious little Ludwig could cook some thing edible." He flashed me his trademark grin, and a cheeky wink. I frowned, shaking away that clingy limb of his.
"You're hilarious Alfred," I replied sarcastically, "but it vasn't me who made this." The microwave dinged its end, so I opened the door and retrieved my steaming hot lunch.
"Did your Girlfriend make it for ya' Ludi?" Alfred asked, tilting his head curiously, a bright twinkle lighting up his deep blue eyes.
I started to blush, my palms growing clammy in evident embarrassment, as my mind briefly placed Feliciano as the aforementioned romantic role. "Umm, n-not exactly," I cleared my throat nervously, but there really was no use trying to lie to the American; he'd find out the truth some way or the other, because he was a nosy little bastard. Feliciano and I were just friends, nothing more- so why was I still so damn embarrassed? "If you have to know, Feliciano made me this. I-it's a long story, but vwe are living together und so he made me lunch, because he is a good friend..."
Ugh, I knew Alfred would start smiling like that... that stupid grin full of deep implications and knowing.
"Now, if you vill excuse me, I vwant to go enjoy my lunch- alone." Turning swiftly on my heel, to hide my deepening blush, I made to walk away; but Alfred's voice caused me to stop in my hasty retreat.
"Hey man, I came to ask ya' a question!" Alfred caught up to me easily, still grinning like an absolute idiot.
I looked down at my lunch in exasperation, feeling the warmth slowly trickling away. "Vell, ask avay..." I grumbled somewhat defeated- because if I didn't give in now, Alfred would be pestering me for days.
"Arthur wanted me to invite my co-workers to our place for Thanksgiving; he was going on and on about missing big gatherings on the Holidays or something like that. Anyway, if you want to come you can definitely bring Feliciano, and anyone else you know. Y-you don't have to feel obligated to come, but it would mean a lot to Artie... he never gets to see his family anymore, and well... my family never sees me. I'd really appreciate it if you would come, Ludwig."
God, Alfred was a master at guilt tripping... those big blue eyes held the right mixture of hope and despair, complete with small tears gathering at the edges. My shoulders slumped further in defeat; how could I say 'no' to that face? "I'll talk to Feliciano..." I sighed, sealing my fate. Alfred perked up immediately at that, his giant smile returning full force.
"Thank you Ludwig! Gosh, you don't know how much this'll mean to Artie; he's gonna be so happy when I tell him you guys are coming!" Alfred did an over excited little jig, completely ignoring the fact that I never fully agreed to go.
"Vell um... should ve bring anything? Or are Arthur und you cooking everything for the meal?"
"Oh God no," Alfred almost burst out laughing at this, "if Artie cooked, I'm pretty sure we'd all be dead by the time dessert rolled around- and seriously, who wants to die before dessert? I've got too much work on my hands to do more than just cook the turkey, so we've decided to kinda make it a pot luck thingie.
"You can bring whatever you want, hell we'll eat just about anything! As long as we're all together and having a blast is what matters to me, and especially to Arthur." With the way that young, and drastically optimistic American smiled, I could tell that he wanted this gathering just as much as he said Arthur would- maybe even more. It seemed to me at least, that a part of him craved the irraplaceable feeling of a family... and it saddened me to think some one in this world could actually yearn for a concept as simple as familial love.
"So there's nothing in particular you need us to bring?" I wanted to double check, so we wouldn't show up bringing along something that wasn't needed.
"Nah, we've got drinks and dessert covered! Artie can't cook to save any one's life, but damn that man can bake. Like I said before, don't worry too much about the details, as long as it's edible we don't give a shit what it is."
I smiled a bit, knowing instantly Feliciano would enjoy shoving 'Authentic Italian Cuisune' down everyone's throats. "Vhat time should vwe be there?"
"Around two at least, that gives us all enough time to enjoy the parade and get ready for everything." Alfred looked quickly towards the clock and jumped, shouting, "Shit! Gotta run, or else I won't be eating until I get home; and I'm fucking starving! See you guys thursday!"
In a blink of an eye he was gone, leaving me to grumble as I went back to re-heat my lunch.
"That's such a great idea! Oh, I'll have to call up Fratello and see if Antonio and him would like to come! Ah, what will I make for dinner? There are so many possibilities, all of them Italian of course, 'cuz let's face it, when isn't Italian food delicious?" Feliciano rambled on, tapping his pouted bottom lip cutely as he prattled.
As predicted, Feliciano practically gushed over the idea of spending Thanksgiving with even more people. An evil part of me also hoped that Romano would throw a bitch fit, and refuse to come. Even if talking to Antonio might be intriguing, especially if I could find out what he saw in Feliciano's jerk-wad of a twin brother.
Sadly, my luck has always been very poor, because Romano agreed (after an hour of sweet coercion on Feliciano's part) to attend...
"Hey Ludwig," Feliciano called out my name after getting off the phone with the devil's spawn, "you should call and let your brother know that we've changed our Thanksgiving plans. Maybe he'd still like to join us?" Feliciano's eyes sparkled happily and his easy smile still affected my heart, and warmed my cheeks.
"Ja, I'll go do that right now then," I replied, picking up the phone and punching in the digits that would connect me to Vash.
The phone rang twice before I heard the crackle and hiss that preluded the quiet "Hallo," of my brother's neutral tone.
"Vash, it's me, Ludwig." A short pause on the other end, then a grunt of affirmation. "Vell, you see... our Thanksgiving plans have kind of changed."
"Ja?" Was all he thankfully gave in response; I was half expecting a lecture from him.
I breathed a sigh of relief and continued my explanation, "You see, one of my co-workers, the American one I was telling you about the other day- vell, he invited Feliciano und I to his place for Thanksgiving. He said vwe could bring other people too, 'the more the merrier' he put it. So... vwould you still like to come?"
The other line was silent for a good while, and for a moment I thought Vash might have hung up on me, but I was relieved to hear him finally ask, "Should I bring anything?"
"Nein, Alfred said vwe didn't have to bring anything- but if it vill make you feel better, you can maybe bring some beer? Oh! Und Feliciano und I vwill pick you up around one okay?"
"Okay, see you then Ludwig, and tell Feliciano I say hi." Vash's voice sounded a lot cheerier. I smiled, knowing my brother was happy to be included.
"See you then," I echoed, before adding (a little embarrassed to be heard by Feliciano), "Ich liebe dich." I had spoken the phrase affectionately and I could almost hear him smile in response on the other end.
"Ja ja, the same," and then the line went dead.
29th, November 1968
"Ludi, wake up! We have to get there early if we want a good spot to watch the parade." Feliciano's cheerful voice awakened me from a light sleep and I groaned, trying to shake away the sleepy fog that still clung to my senses. For a second I was distorted and confused, wondering what the peppy Italian was talking about.
"V-vhere are ve going again?" I asked, sitting up and letting my heavy blankets pool around my waist. I idly caught sight of the younger man's skinny frame; and I blushed at how cute he looked in his hot pink tank top and yellow boxer shorts, that he wore to sleep in.
Feliciano gave an exasperated sigh, which caused me to guiltily rip my eyes away from his long, slender legs to look at his face. "Don't you remember Ludi? We're going to the Macy's day parade! It's your first Thanksgiving in New York, you have to come see the parade with me; I know you'll love it!"
I smiled fondly at his over excited chatter and merely replied, "Okay, okay- let's get dressed then."
Hundreds, maybe even thousands of people were gathered along Central Park West st. right off of 77th. Feliciano had been wise in having us leave early to find a good spot; but, regardless of his foresight, we were still stuck behind hundreds of other observers who had been camping out for prime spots since yesterday. The air was frigid, and I watched in vague fascination as my breath appeared in gigantic puffs of white before my face.
"Ve~ good thing we bundled up, huh Ludwig?" Feliciano smiled, playing with the thick tassels at the ends of his cherry red scarf. Dark mittens adorned his slender hands, and a thick black peacoat (though a few sizes too big on him) wrapped about his scrawny torso. Nicely tailored plaid pants covered his lower half, along with a rather worn out pair of black dress shoes; freshly polished. In my eyes at least, the poor Italian looked like a million bucks.
"Ja, otherwise ve might have caught colds in this weather," I replied, trying my very hardest to focus on our conversation and not on how much I missed seeing Feliciano's bronze skin. Instead I tried to occupy my attention on my light brown, leather clad hands. So lost in thought was I, that when the crowd began to cheer uproariously, it made me jump in shock!
"Ha~ Ludwig is cute when he's startled!" Feliciano laughed, a cheeky twinkle lighting up those golden brown eyes that I was beginning to adore. The way his thick, doll-like eyelashes curved about his large and undoubtedly enchanting eyes- it made me want to stare into them for an eternity, perhaps even longer.
"S-stop laughing Feli, it vasn't that funny," I sputtered, trying to hide my embarrassment and failing miserably.
"Veee~ you called me Feli." The small Italian murmured, eyes wide and alight with an odd emotion that I could not place.
"Oh, um... I'm sorry, I could swear I said 'Feliciano'... my apologies."
"N-no, no it's fine Ludwig! I like it when you call me Feli." There was no fighting back the blush that ate its way through my entire body because of those brutally honest words; spoken always through his lilting accent.
"Um... right... okay." I fidgeted awkwardly in place, moving from foot to foot, anything to distract myself from the vibrant flush across my face. Feliciano just smiled as sweetly as always, but now his attention turned to the parade at hand. A few minutes passed by in uncomfortable silence.
"Ugh, I can't see anything..." Feliciano pouted, straining onto his tippy-toes to get a good view of the dancing girls and brass instruments playing California Dreamin'. He began to bounce up and down in a vain attempt to see what everyone else was seeing.
Before I even realized what I was doing, my fingers wrapped around Feliciano's slim waist and I was hoisting him up onto my shoulders like a young child. He made a surprised squeak, but otherwise rested his arms atop my head; seemingly content with his new position.
"Look Ludwig, it's Felix the Cat!" He cried out in excitement, wiggling a bit upon my shoulders. I glanced up to see him pointing at a gigantic balloon in the shape of a black and white cartoon cat; a smile blossomed across his face. "I wish it was a real kitty, so I could scratch behind his ears and rub his cute little tum-tum."
"Feli, do you like cats?" I asked, trying to acclimate myself into using his nickname; if only to see him smile so brightly.
"Si!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air and giggling. He spent the rest of the parade chattering on about cats.
My fingers knocked lightly a few times on the deep, cherry wood door of my old flat. It struck me then that this was a place I used to live, only five or so months ago. "Give me a moment," Vash's voice filtered through the wood in a muffled, distorted kind of way.
A few seconds later the door swung open to reveal the neutral features of my brothers face. "Oh, it's only you Ludwig. Why didn't you just come in?" He tilted his head, tipping his long golden blond hair further passed his left shoulder.
"I didn't want to intrude in case you vere busy doing something," I mumbled weakly, hating how it made me feel like being chastised like a child.
Vash's emerald eyes drifted lazily over to Feliciano; though what he thought of said Italian I couldn't tell, for his face was as unreadable as a blank canvas. "I'm taking it that this is Mr. Vargas then?" Vash quirked an eyebrow, but asked no further questions.
"Si," Feliciano began, "it's wonderful to finally meet you Vash! Ludi's told me so much about you." I visibly winced at the usage of that nickname. It was fine when he used it when we were alone, or with Alfred and his gang but... in front of Vash it was just downright embarrassing!
My brothers lips quirked up into a rare smile. "I see. Well, I hope it's only good things he's been talking about. I would hate to have to spill some of Ludwig's deepest, darkest secrets if he has been painting a false perception of me." Vash smiled good naturedly, and that's what made me shudder in fear; because the flatness in his emerald eyes told me he wasn't kidding around.
"V-vell, I think ve should get going," I mumbled, clearing my throat nervously. Feliciano latched instantly onto my arm, and I caught Vash smirking from the corner of my eye. I had a feeling that by the end of the day, I would most likely die of embarrassment...
E/N: ...so yeah... it's been over a year since I posted any thing new for this story. I honestly have no excuses. I got lazy and stopped writing new chapters, and only had two more to rely on that were complete to type up and post. I still only have these two Thanksgiving parts and half of the chapter after this written out after all this time... all I can say is I'm incredibly sorry, and hope that you guys might still want to read this story. I really will try to get more chapters written, but we'll see. Any way, thank you for reading this if you decided to stick around. Your support means the world to me!