Ludwig Beilschmidt was his name. And he visited the coffee shop every two or three days for a quiet place to study.

Matthias had found this out from Alfred. The service boy knew all of their frequent customers. And when Matthias had asked about the tall German, he hadn't hesitated at all to give the Dane information.

"He's a quiet kind of guy. Keeps mostly to himself. And he always orders the same thing." Alfred told him with a small shrug, "He's cute and all, Matt, but he strikes me as a completely straight kind of dude."

"Hmm..." Matthis murmured to himself, then looked up when he heard footsteps approaching their little booth.

Both males had just finished their shifts and were patiently waiting for their boss to lock up. Even though the elderly man insisted that he didn't need anybody to walk him home, Matthias and Alfred took it upon themselves to make sure that he returned safely. Even though Denmark might seem like a utopia to many foreigners, it wasn't completely rid of crime. And elderly people walking at ten at night by themselves were universally considered easy targets.

Matthias hadn't expected to see Berwald walking up to them. Just like he didn't expect him to have a steaming mug of coffee in his hands.

"Ber?" The blonde asked as he stood up from his seat, only for Berwald's steely blue eyes to freeze him.

He didn't look angry... But Matthias had a feeling that this little surprise visit would only end in some kind of disaster.

Would Berwald disown him? Kick him out of his house? Would he end up having to live on the streets because none of his friends would take him in and-

"Your name's bear?" Alfred suddenly piped up, making both brothers turn to him. "That's actually a pretty cool name. Wish I had been something awesome like that... Like Eagle..."

Berwald quirked an intrigued yet equally confused eyebrow at the teenager's ramblings, but then turned back to Matthias. "Your boss offered me some free coffee... It's good..."

Berwald spoke incredibly slow and usually slurred his words. The more tired he was, the worse this became. But right now, his words were pretty clear... Well... Clear for him.

There was a tense awkwardness that had fallen over both brothers and Matthias couldn't stand it. So he decided that if he was going to continue down this path of taking a year away from studies, then he would have to begin to stand up to his brothers at all times. Even though he wanted to make them happy, he had to make himself happy first. And he couldn't do that if he was always trying to please everyone else.

"Listen, Berwald-"

"Lukas wanted me to tell you that we'll be havin' a family breakfast tom'rrow." Berwald interrupted in an almost rushed voice, even though it still sounded somewhat slow. "You usually don't get back to th' house 'til midnight, but we're all asleep by then."

Matthias blinked at his brother's words, but soon nodded dumbly. "Yeah... Okay... I'm guessing early morning?"

"Nine sharp."

The younger of the two looked up at the older with apprehension and complete confusion. But soon Berwald nodded and turned around, walking off with his back held rigidly straight.

Once his brother was out of earshot, Matthias heard Alfred whistle. Then the teen had the nerve to say, "Geez... He's got the biggest stick up his ass I think I've ever seen."

For a second, Matthias felt a jolt of annoyance flash through him. Even though he and his brothers didn't always get along, he'd protect them until the day he died.

But... This was a kid. And Alfred had never had good control of his mouth... Besides, the image of Berwald walking around with a huge stick stuck up his backside was one that had Matthias smiling in amusement.

"I completely agree." The blonde sighed as he threw himself back onto the booth he had been on, "He's a bit of a hard ass. But he's actually pretty nice... Behind all the scary."

"I'm guessing he's your uncle?"

This had Matthias bursting out in a full fit of laughter. A fit that had Alfred staring at him as if he had just sprouted a second head.

"Brother, Al... He's my brother." He made out between the chuckles, then smiled at the surprised American. "Looks older than he is, don't he?"

"He sure does!" The American gasped, then scrunched his face up in thought. A face Matthias knew would give way to a question that would either make him laugh his ass off or regret ever having met the teenager. "And Lukas... That's his boyfriend?"

This was such an unbelievably funny comment that Matthias couldn't help but fall into a fit of laughter that had him just about rolling on the floor. And he even fell to the floor because of how truly hilarious the situation was.

"It's not funny, Matthias!"

Oh, it was extremely funny. But Matthias was laughing so much at the moment that he couldn't tell the American. He was just able to laugh and laugh and sometimes smack his fists against the floor to truly show off how funny the situation was.

Alfred got tired of listening to him laugh after a while. So the teen stood up and began to walk away, all the while Matthias continued to roll around on the floor.

But after a few minutes, his laughter died down and Matthias just lay on the floor, taking in the absurdity of what his American friend had said. Sure, it made sense to him if someone thought his brothers were dating. The way they acted and how much they actually loved one another, Matthias could understand clearly. But, even with how he could understand, he still found it hilarious whenever anyone made the mistake.

As he forced his breath to slow and calm down, Matthias looked over at the computer corner of the little shop. He didn't know why. He just felt like looking over in that one direction.

On the desk that he'd seen Ludwig seated on today- just like in every other day-, Matthias was able to see a kind of book. So, with curiosity spurring him forward, Matthias picked himself up from the floor and moved towards the desk. And when he reached it and picked up the little book, he found that it was a comic book. Graphic novel... Whatever. Matthias wasn't a big entrepreneur of super heroes, so he didn't know much about this kind of thing.

It wasn't any of the big names. He'd never heard of the heroes on the front cover. And when he turned over the book to read the summary at the book, Matthias was left even more confused. He'd never heard of any of the names mentioned her. Nor had he heard of this strange world they apparently lived in.

"Mattie! Closing time!"

Matthias jumped upon suddenly hearing his boss' voice break the silence. But he soon turned around and offered a small smile, moving to walk towards the front of the shop.

"Already? So boring, Mr. Frederick! We should stay for a while and play football in the main area."

The tall man offered a small chuckle as he shook his head in Matthias' direction. Then he motioned for the young male to exit the shop, which the blonde did. When he stepped out, it was to find Alfred already outside, waiting for him and their boss.

"Did you finally stop being immature?"

Alfred's voice was harsh, but his face reminded Matthias so much of a kicked puppy that the Dane couldn't stop himself- he began to laugh loudly once more.

Alfred's loud groan was like music to his ears.

~/~

Matthias wound up reading the comic book straight through his family's breakfast.

It wasn't that his family was boring or anything, but they had thrown all of their efforts into talking about school and jobs. A topic of conversation that was undoubtedly supposed to drive a thorn into Matthias' side. And, if not for the book that distracted him, the Dane was pretty sure that he truly would have gotten annoyed by what was said.

Unlike many of the comic books he had come across in his life, it wasn't campy nor did the story line feel forced so it could appeal to more than just one age group. But it dealt with some pretty heavy themes like rape and murder, so Matthias guessed this wasn't some random kid story.

Once he'd finished reading it; all the while he still ignored Lukas asking Emil and Tino about their future college careers; Matthias' eye was caught by a small note on the inside of the back cover of the paper book.

Property of Ludwig Beilschmidt. If found, please call the number below.

Hopefully, you have enjoyed this story as much as I have. But, please, return it as soon as possible.

Below this, there was a number. The words and numbers were written in precise, clean lines. And the size of the letters was even, which led Matthias to believe that this Ludwig fellow was the kind that enjoyed to be organized.

It was odd, though, that he had the note of who to call on the back of the book...

Still, it felt good that Matthias now had an excuse to try and speak with his favorite customer.

~/~

When Ludwig walked into the coffee shop, Matthias couldn't help but perk up. The day had been somewhat slow and he was still reeling slightly from the tongue lashings he'd received a few days ago.

His brothers were the only people in the world that could actually bring his mood down. And they used this against him. A lot.

The German's eyes immediately glanced towards his corner. But when they finished scanning over the desk he had been seated in a couple of days ago, Matthias could see his face fall and his mood drop.

He must have been hoping he'd find his book there... And this gave Matthias an idea.

Initially, his plan had been to return the comic book as soon as Ludwig grabbed the coffee he would order from whichever barista made it. And he'd kind of hoped that, maybe, he'd be able to begin a real conversation with the man.

But if Ludwig had made one thing clear ever since Matthias had started working, it was that he really didn't like conversations too much. Even though he was able to talk with whoever started up a conversation, the broad blonde didn't really seem as if he truly enjoyed it. Especially because he would always glance back at his work every now and then, as if mentally willing the person talking to speak faster so he could return to his reading.

Even though he was pretty sure the comic book would be a good conversationally piece... Well, he kind of liked the new idea that had sprang up in his head.

So Matthias bid his time and didn't return the book when Ludwig came over to pick up his coffee. Instead, he waited until the man went on a rather normal bathroom break from his studies so he was able to return the book.

When Ludwig went out, Matthias quickly ran over to the boss's office and picked up a stray piece of paper, along with a pen. Then he quickly began to write down a few quick praises towards the story and characters, one praise to Ludwig's amazing taste, and, finally, a small question.

Do you have any other good books to read?

..~..~..

Please don't forget to review. I love reading what y'all have to say!