The moment Feliciano accepted to stay at Ludwig's apartment, he prepared a bag with his stuff to live a week out of his house. The sole idea of having the Italian in his place made Ludwig's head spin in dizziness. A happy dizziness that made his mind go blank. He actually asked Feliciano to stay with him in a blurt, immersed in the moment of his heart wanting to die from all the beating against his chest. And even then, he didn't regret any of it. He planned to pass his remaining time with the brunette, anyways, so having him at his apartment was pretty convenient.

When they entered Ludwig's place, the artist threw himself to the bed, hugging the pillows. He seemed to be in a better mood.

"Your bed is as comfy as always, Ludwig" he said, burying his face against the soft pillow "It smells like you"

"Oh, sorry, I could change the cover if you want" Ludwig suggested leaving his jacket over the chair.

"No, you smell nice"

The blond's heart skipped a beat and his face blushed lightly. He should be used to Feliciano's direct way of saying things by now, he thought.

"Do you want to continue painting?" he said while pulling the chair away from the desk to sit on it, he needed to continue with the pamphlets to sell his place.

"Do you really not mind?" Feliciano asked, rolling himself on the bed to face his companion "It'll start to smell like paint and stuff like that"

"It's fine, I told you" and it really was – turpentine and paint was Feliciano's scent, after all – "Besides, I have a window"

"That's right" the Italian laid on his back completely, looking at the window "We could watch the stars from here" it was just a murmur but Ludwig still caught it.

"Every night" he replied after seconds of silence.

After a few hours, the artist already had his half-finished painting over the easel, besides the open window to let the light get inside and illuminate the canvas. Ludwig, on the other hand, was sitting at his desk, accommodating some property papers. He needed to hire a lawyer to make everything legal, and he had to do it quickly because he's leaving in just six days. He also needed to find a buyer, he couldn't just leave the place with no owner, mainly because it was most likely he wouldn't come back ever again to deal with this.

His train of thought stopped when he heard a song, more like a humming, in the place. It was a slow and soft tune, something like a waltz, and it was coming from his back. Ludwig looked behind him to find Feliciano still painting, but the humming was definitely coming from him. It was the first time that he had heard Feliciano humming while painting – he didn't do it while sketching – did that mean that he's comfortable right now? That he's happy? Maybe he was just really concentrated and didn't realize what he was doing. The tune itself was familiar, maybe Ludwig has heard it somewhere before? In any case, the blond man simply smiled softly.

The foreigner had promised not to bother the working artist, but he just couldn't help himself.

"What are you painting?" he asked without moving from his place.

"It's a scenery, this time it's a winter one, with a lake and mountains" even if he described it, Ludwig could see it from where he was sitting "Winter is coming and I thought it would be accord to paint something like this"

"And what are you humming?"

"Oh" Feliciano chuckles "I didn't realize I was doing that" he shrugs his shoulders as if nothing, never interrupting his masterful hand painting over the canvas "It's called Die Romantiker by Joseph Lanner, I've would thought you'd knew this one, Joseph Lanner is Austrian, after all" Ludwig had to suppress a chuckle at the Italian's horrible German pronunciation.

"It sounded familiar. I didn't know you had knowledge on music, even less in Germanic music"

"Are you kidding?" Feliciano looked at him for a brief moment to later return his gaze to the canvas "I told you, my grandpa used to travel. A lot. He even got to Austria and Germany, France, Spain. Well, Europe is really small, after all" he was talking while spreading some gray color on a cloud "And even when he met grandma, they traveled together, never missing the opportunity. Until they decided to settle down, coming back to Italia and have a family"

Ludwig was listening in silence, mesmerized at the almost magical artistic ability that Feliciano possessed on his body, and eager to learn more and more, everything he could, about his true love. He needed this in order to have something to remember when leaving.

"My older brother was born, then I was born, and my grandparents took care of us" he chuckled softly at the memory; the blond could almost swear the Italian was replaying his childhood memories on his mind "They taught us a lot of things, everything they had learnt in their travels. The love for music, for painting, for life itself"

"When did you start to travel with your grandfather alone?"

"Maybe when I was ten years old, when he perceived I had this so called 'gift' for painting. I told you, didn't I? My older brother stayed behind with grandma, he isn't that good at arts" he stopped his painting hand and looked at the roof "Maybe he's too brute for arts" when Feliciano realized what he just said, he suddenly yelped and looked at the German "I mean, too brusque, he isn't an idiot or anything" the brunette resumed his painting, changing brushes and now applying some green to the icy lake "He gets desperate and angry too quickly, and the art it's something you need patience for or you'll screw everything" an uncharacteristic sigh escaped from his lips "In short, it were my grandparents who taught me about the world, that including foreigner music. We had a piano at home that my grandma used to play all the time so I learnt a few things from there"

The German had changed seats, now comfortably sitting on the bed so he was able to peek over the artist's shoulder to see the canvas, but still somewhat away from him.

"You're a box full of surprises" he said on a whisper, more to himself than to anybody else.

"Did you say something, Ludwig?" Feliciano asked without looking at him.

"No, Feliciano, continue"

"Actually, I'm more interested on listening you talking" the house owner's cheeks blushed at the comment "Tell me about yourself, I know so little about you it's ridiculous, we've been friends for almost half a year, haven't we?"

"I didn't have an interesting life like you, Feliciano" he had just noticed, but lately he had been saying the Italian's name a lot. It left a tingle nice sensation on his lips and mouth "My childhood was full of schooling and business" the brunette snorted "What?"

"I imagined a little Ludwig wearing prissy clothes, all pampered out, but I do wonder" he once again turned his face to Ludwig, looking at him "Did you glare and stare as much as you do now?"

"I—I don't stare" the German tried to defend himself, stuttering and looking away.

"You were doing it right now~~" Feliciano teased with a grin.

"Because you're talking!"

If there was something Ludwig would brag about – not that he actually does it – it's his ability to stay calm and serene, even in difficult times, but Feliciano – somehow – always got right into him. Even before falling in love with him. It was like the Italian could read his mind and heart and be able to see what could piss him off the most. Or maybe Ludwig just wasn't used to teasing. Or maybe this kind of teasing was different from his older brother's – distasteful sexual humor, his grandfather would call it – at any rate, it always ended the same way. With Ludwig blushing about the obvious facts that Feliciano noted on.

The Italian just laughed at him and left his arts utensils on the floor, climbing into the bed to sit next to the German.

"You have a scary stare, Ludwig, just admit it"

"Well, it didn't scare you" the blond could almost feel his mouth pouting, but he was glad he had all of this self-control.

"Because I just knew you were special, Ludwig" this time the flattered looked at him with a questioning face "You're a German in the middle of Venezia, in Italia, because you worked hard for a scholarship to study a semester in this city. I mean, you really wanted to be here. And I think that's something"

Ludwig wasn't that sure he had followed correctly Feliciano's way of logic. But he also didn't care that much. It was fine like this.

"Wow, look at the sky" Feliciano gasped with amazement, getting off the bed to get closer to the window "It's sunset already. You can see it pretty well from here" but Ludwig didn't move, because he was looking at Feliciano.

His kind of tanned skin was practically glowing with the firey orange light that entered through the window, kissing him softly as a cooling air moved his hair as if magic actually existed, the German then wondered how soft that hair is, how would it feel to pass his hand trough it.

"You're staring" the Italian said, taking Ludwig off of his daydream "Again" Feliciano grinned at him.

"I'm not" but the red color on his cheeks uncovered his lie. He stood up and also got closer to the window, standing behind the Italian.

"My grandpa also taught me about this" the smaller man started to speak "Seeing life as colors, forms, lights"

"Don't we all do that?"

"No" the answer was so sudden and yet so full tenderness "People usually see the world as a whole. Grandpa taught me to see it separately. In that order; color, form and light." He took a deep breath and continued talking "'To be able to paint' he always said 'you need to understand the world isn't a whole' at the moment I thought he was just trying to look intelligent and awesome" he laughed again – was Feliciano's laugh always this nice? – "But later on, I understood what he meant"

"And what did he mean?" maybe it was because Ludwig wasn't an artist, but he didn't quite understand it "Because it sounds pretty obvious to me that the world is made of parts, not a whole"

"The goal of an artist is to bring people's emotions to flourish when seeing their art" Feliciano kept staring at the colorful sunset "What do you feel when you see a red rose in the morning?"

"I think about flower arrangements. Maybe Saint Valentine" he was sure his companion didn't know about Germany's red roses costumes, though.

"I didn't ask that" the Italian finally turned his body to face the taller man, with a smile, provoking the German's heart to flutter because they were close "I asked you what do you feel, not what you think"

"Uhm. A red rose. I guess… love? Loving feelings?" something the German didn't like to feel was confuse and not knowing what is going on around him, that's for sure, and right at that moment his heart didn't know how to react to this stimulation.

"Ok, what do you feel when you see red blood in the floor in the morning?" that question took Ludwig off-guard, making his body calm down.

"I… I feel worried, maybe afraid"

"But did you notice? It's the same color and light, I only changed the form, and I still got a different reaction from you" he giggled softly "That's why the world isn't a whole, and that's why it's important to recognize that, in order to do good art that brings different emotions to people"

Ludwig had never realized just how passionate Feliciano really is about art. The brunette's eyes sparkled in a way that almost looked divine, god-like, every time he talked about art; how it worked, how to perfect it, how it transforms into different things. Ludwig wonders if his own eyes sparkle as much whenever he talks about his job. He can swear they don't.

"Do you wanna go get dinner?"

His thoughts once again interrupted by the singing voice of the Italian in front of him.

"Oh, right" the blond took some steps back, away from the brunette to be able to calm down completely "Whatever you say it's fine by me"

"Then Abrielle's ok?"

"Sure"

They went to the decided place and had dinner. Abrielle was beautiful, funny and strong as always, bringing a smile to both men. That restaurant had become one of Ludwig's favorite places since he started to go out with Feliciano, and the idea of never going there to eat, meet Abrielle and such, all in company of his Italian friend made his chest hurt with a sting pain, direct to the heart.

"You're leaving?" the tanned women asked when received the news "Man, that's so sad!" her hands were on her waist and her eyebrows knitted in sadness "I didn't know your staying was just temporal" her eyes diverted momentarily towards Feliciano, who was simply eating his Panini in silence "And you don't plan on coming back?"

"That would be difficult to do, since my parting it's business related" Ludwig explained before taking a sip from his glass of light beer.

"Ah, yeah, I guess so" she looked worried, biting her lower lips "I've heard that Germany it's on a tight situation, so it's true"

"Yes, and my family business is being affected by it"

"I see…" she then placed a hand on Ludwig's shoulder "Well, it really is sad to see you go, we were getting used to you being here, right, Feliciano?" she faced the mentioned, who was still eating his food and not looking at them.

"Sì, sì" his voice seemed disinterested, but Ludwig now knew better. It was obvious for him that Feliciano didn't want to talk about that.

The rest of the dinner went as always, with Feliciano taking over the conversation and Ludwig replying and answering his questions. He will definitely miss all of this. When they finished eating, they started to walk towards the little plaza with the fountain of sparkling water in the middle. It was a quite night with no people outside in the street, cold wind that caressed the skin softly, and the only sound that could be heard was the whispering coming from the ocean. The moment they arrived at the little plaza, Feliciano giggled a bit.

"What is it?" the German questioned.

"No, nothing. It's kind of weird. We usually go separate ways from here" he stopped walking, twirling once in front of the fountain with a smile on his face and looking at his friend "But now we both will go to your place, and sleep there. Together. It's kind of weird. This change"

"Weird?"

"Oh, but not in a bad way, but in a good way" Feliciano put his hands together "I like being with you, Ludwig"

The foreigner's heart accelerated at that moment.

"Yes" he whispered "I also like being with you"

After continuing their way, they got to Ludwig's apartment and prepared to sleep. Between ridiculous jokes from Feliciano that the German didn't get – "Don't analyze humor, Ludwig, geez!" -. When the blond was taking off the bed's covers, the Italian called his name.

"I'm glad there are no clouds tonight" he said while watching through the window, sitting on a chair with his face pillowed over his hands, elbows over the window's frame. He was already wearing pajamas "The stars always look better from your place, Ludwig"

The taller man stared at the Italian – again – looking carefully how his skin reflected the moonlight and, just like in the sunset, gleamed magically. How would that skin feel under his touch? It should be cold because the wind coming from outside it's like that.

"You're staring" Feliciano said, closing his eyes and smiling.

"I'm not" once again the blush on his face said the contrary "I'm just—"

"It's ok" the Italian interrupted, still with eyes closed "I like it, when you look at me"

Ludwig's body felt light, as if he was filled of pure air, he could almost swear he was floating in the middle of the room. But that's obviously impossible, Ludwig. His fists tightened over the bed's cover and his heart was racing away against his chest.

He really liked this feeling.

But in a few days, it would be gone forever.

"Aren't you going to watch the stars with me, Ludwig?"

The request was made in a whisper, so soft that the German thought it was only the wind, but corrected himself when those brown eyes looked at him. Those eyes that shined and sparkled with so much honesty and sincerity that seemed so out of this world. So he got close to the window, stopping just behind of the brunette who centered his attention in the night sky again.

"Are you going to miss Italia, Ludwig?" Feliciano's voice was only a whisper, but it still invaded the German's body with unknown feelings.

"Yes, Feliciano"

"And are you going to miss Venezia?"

"Yes, Feliciano"

Now his voice was also a soft whisper that had a hard time getting out of his mouth, as if it didn't want to see the exterior world because then everything would be real.

"What about Mrs. Carmelina, and Abrielle, are you going to miss them?"

"Yes, Feliciano"

But, of course, everything that was happening was real. His fingers twitched lightly. Ludwig was feeling antsy and he didn't know why exactly. His body was feeling this urgent need of something that he didn't recognize what it was. And it only worsened when Feliciano didn't say anything for a few moments.

"Are you going to miss me, Ludwig?"

Ludwig's body reacted on its own. When he realized what was happening, he was already hugging the Italian's little body from behind, his arms holding to the other's shoulders and his face buried on the soft brown hair that smelled like turpentine and paint.

"Of course, Feliciano" he whispered loud enough for the artist to listen "I'm going to miss you the most, Feliciano" and he was sure that was true, his racing heart told him so.

Feliciano's body started to lightly tremble under his touch, and if Ludwig payed enough attention, he could feel how the other's breath was getting hard and inconsistent. He surely was trying to hold back his sobs and tears.

"Let's go to sleep, Feliciano" still whispering against that brown hair, whose owner simply nodded in silence.

When laying down in the bed, they stayed in silence. Ludwig felt like screaming, like running away, like wanting to destroy something. But this time he was sure it wasn't because having the Italian close to him, on contrary, it was because in a few days the artist wouldn't be next to him anymore.

"Ludwig"

Another soft voice called him in the dark besides him. He looked at the body next to him, to those eyes who were intensely gazing at his.

"Can I hug you?"

The German's lungs and heart stopped working for a few seconds.

"Yes, Feliciano" he then moved to his side, opening his arms to receive the little body between them. Feliciano hugged him, passing his arms under the other's arms and stayed there.

"I'm going to miss you too, Ludwig"

The foreginer's hand dared to travel to the Italian's head and caressed the brown hair that crowned it. Passing his long fingers through the soft threads that were still a little wet because of the shower he had before going to bed.

"I know, Feliciano" Ludwig closed his eyes "I know"

Author Notes:

We are getting to the end of this story!