AN: I am not even going to think about translating the title this time. Also, if you don't just by reading this at least one of the characters to be introduced, you are officially hopeless XD
This chapter here was a real b*tch to write. The first part of it at least was.
I would like to thank Lanaroolz, too. Since you disabled the PM function I can't reply directly but yeah xD I'll try to use that nickname if I can make it fit somewhere, thank you~ Also, the actual plot should start showing its face in the next chapter. Woot, even more character introductions!
Word count : 1618
"Mister Feliciano! Please, there is no-"
"Excuse me! Do you happen to know an Italian restaurant here, ve?"
A bouncing form in front of him was pretty much the only thing he could keep track of right now. There was a tall and scary-looking guy behind him, too, who looked like he would rather be anywhere but here. The expectant look on the smiling man's face made him think that maybe, probably, he needed to say something.
"None that I am aware of..." He didn't come over often, so he didn't know Burchee very well... but that had never been the question. In fact, he had never visited that strange bar either, and had learnt about the existence of any restaurant a few weeks back.
He liked his home island better anyway ; there was nothing worth seeing here, except for the high number of murders and the huge amount of crime. Those were entertaining, in their own creepy way. It was the reason he had a job in the first place.
"What? There's no Italian restaurant? Ve, but Lovi told me he held one, there has to be something here! He doesn't lie, ve!" The young man sounded offended now. So what, it wasn't his fault if he didn't know anything about the locals. The man shrugged.
"If you happened to see Lovi or his restaurant, tell me, ve! My name is Feliciano Vargas, I'll be waiting for him, somewhere." He pensively stared at his hands, and whispered a soft 'Ve...'. That was when the tall blond behind him stepped forward. "Excuse me." he said, addressing a polite nod of his head to the man, and then lifting the other over his shoulder.
"VE! Ludwig, wait, I want to find Lovi!"
"I know, mister Feliciano. But we won't at such a late hour." Ludwig had tried calling the young male 'Mister Vargas' when they had first met, but he just wouldn't let him do so. He had insisted on being called 'Feli', but that was a certain limit of indecency he would never cross. Furthermore, the Italian wanted to find his brother, Ludwig did his best to avoid his own. And if he could, avoiding the elder Italian sounded just as tempting.
"Luuudwig, I want to find Lovi, to make him an early surprise for his birthday! Oh!" Ludwig looked up at the man who had just stopped struggling under his grip. "Ve, do you think he'd like it if I cooked him a lot of pasta?"
Ludwig facepalmed ; he'd never get used to him. "Excuse me, we will take our leave now."
"Ludw-"
"Mister Feliciano. We. Are. Leaving." Feliciano opened his mouth to protest, but the German beat him to it. "Now."
"Ve, you're no fun, Ludwig."
"You keep on telling me, mister Fe-"
"Come ooon, Ludwig! Ve, for how long do we know each other? I told you to stop calling me mister, it makes me feel snobbish and stupid and protected and, ve."
The young man looked a little disconcerted, having completely been forgotten by the pair, and opted for a quick retreat. He'd have to chose another meeting point with his brother next time. Preferably far away from any restaurant, hotel, and Italian or German things in general ; those two looked like he would meet them again. He walked off silently, disappearing in the darkness of the town ; the two remaining Europeans didn't notice it.
"I am here to protect you, mister Feliciano." The Italian pouted, but Ludwig hadn't found anything to add to the two other things he'd said so he considered it a victory for himself anyway. The German's tightening grasp was nothing even remotely close to comfortable though.
"Ve, you should let me down, Ludwig, I can walk alone!" he tried to wiggle himself free from the strong grip and then he fell, because Ludwig had suddenly let go of him and he was harshly introduced to the pavement. "Ouch!"
Ludwig immediately knelt down next to the smaller man, apologizing and his cheeks tainted a faint red. He hadn't really noticed that carrying the man over his shoulder like that allowed him a perfect view of a certain part of his body he had never really looked at.
And he was not in denial.
Or maybe he was.
(- -)
"Ludwig, I'm tired, ve..."
The German noticed that apparently, Feliciano wasn't faking it, as his wobbly footsteps and his fluttering eyes were something he never managed to correctly imitate when he was just pretending to be half-asleep. Ludwig sighed, and scratched the back of his head in search of a solution. Feliciano hated hotels, and somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Ludwig had hoped that they would find his brother today ; it would have at least made it a lot easier for the both of them to find a place to sleep. Although he would probably have been fought over, with one of the brothers forcing him to sleep outside, and the other to sleep with him.
Not in that way, mind you.
His brother would probably think that this kind of situation was entertaining, or awesome ; it wasn't to Ludwig. He hated conflicts as much as he hated untidiness, unpunctuality, and most of the things his brother did at all, since when it came down to it, he usually was the one who had to fix everything. That was the main reason he didn't want to find him here. The best would be to avoid him for as long as he could.
"Ludwiiiig..." Feliciano whined this time, and Ludwig had the bad idea to look at him. The Italian was staring at him with those eyes. Damn.
He knelt down a bit ; he had learnt long ago that it was near impossible for him to argue with Feliciano. The younger male smiled brightly, jumped onto his back and put his arms around his neck, encircling his torso with his legs. "Yay, piggyback!" he laughed, causing Ludwig to blush. He walked for a bit, trying to find a hotel although the man he was supposed to take care of would not accept it, most likely.
"Do you know someone else here, mister Feliciano?" it was near impossible, but one could still ask. He didn't know where they would sleep if they weren't able to find Lovino tonight. But in the end, it was his own fault too ; he should never have agreed on such a spontaneous trip, and he knew how Feliciano was.
"Hmm?" Ludwig heard a yawn. Don't tell him he had already fallen asleep! "Ve, maybe..." the Italian whispered, before almost drifting back off to sleep.
"Who would that be?" Ludwig shook him a bit ; it wouldn't do if he had to carry an unconscious Feliciano around, looking for someone without knowing who it was. "Who do you know here, other than you brother?"
Feliciano's grip around his neck tightened a bit and Ludwig felt his breath ghost along his skin. Feliciano would have fallen down once more because Ludwig suddenly let go of him, hadn't he been holding him so tight.
"Well, there's Kiku... and Erzsi too... Though I think Kiku would be too uncomfortable if we came now and there's probably no space at his place, not enough at least... But Erzsébet won't mind, she likes me a lot, ve."
"And where does she live?"
"Hungary..." Feliciano murmured sleepily, loosening his hold, which in spite of everything remained incredibly strong.
Ludwig stopped.
"She lives where?"
His only answer was a snort.
"… Mister Feliciano? She does not live in another country, right? I asked about here, this city! Not the continent!" No response. "Mister Feliciano!"
Again, Ludwig was talking alone. He sighed, and tried to find a place that looked Hungarian, which seemed like an impossible task to accomplish at past eleven in the evening.
When he much later found a loud place with a large neon sign reading 'Hungary' he thought he had finally reached it, before he realized that this was a bar. What girl would live in a bar? The time he needed to think about it, he assisted to a strange event. The door opened violently, and a man was thrown out.
Literally.
"HOW OFTEN DID I TELL YOU TONIGHT NOT TO HIT ON RODERICH, FRANCIS? This is the first and last time I warn you. You can see how you'd deal with a complaint for sexual harassment if you ever dared to do that again. And how you'd deal with a crushed spinal column too, if he happened to leave because of you!"
"Elisabeth, why so mad? I thought you liked it!" The man, apparently called Francis, sighed. Ludwig noticed he smelled of alcohol, but just a bit. Was that wine? When the woman glared at him, the man stood up. "Well, I suppose I am not welcome here anymore. But I'll come back anyway. Cet endroit est trop parfait pour ne pas y venir régulièrement."
"Just... Just go, Francis. I have things to do." As Francis walked off, the woman finally noticed Ludwig, who still had an unconscious Feliciano on his back, although he was now a bit dumbfounded. "Good evening, mister." She said, with a smile. How could she have switched from such a scary to such a beautiful person in just a second? "Do you want to come in? Hmm?" She walked a little closer, noticing the man he was carrying. "Could it be... Oh, Feliciano, it's you!"
"I am sorry, but he's currently asl–"
"Erzsébet, you're just as pretty as you were in my dreams, ve!"
Ludwig let him fall down, on purpose this time.
AN : I never thought I'd make Ludwig of all people the first character to introduce a bit of romance. And he's not in denial, no sir. Oh, and actually Francis is very used to being thrown out. But you'd guess that. And Erzsi is being violent. I also noticed I made a mistake with her family name, writing Hédeváry instead of Héderváry. I corrected that in chapter 7.
Also, Feli is a mean piggyback-ride-plotter, you all know it. And Erzsi is very protective of her employees.
Ludwig Beilschmidt [22] is something like Feliciano's bodyguard. He was hired when Feliciano's grandfather thought it might be better for his grandson to get someone to take care of him, and he is, so far, the only one who (somewhat) managed to handle him.
Feliciano Vargas [21] is a (world-)famous artist, from painting to simple sketches and drawings and whatnot. He's also quite eccentric, and currently looking for his big brother.