It's intriguing to learn about slang.

0o0o0o

Ludwig didn't like the heat that settled in every summer. It made everything slow and heavy and all he wanted to do was sleep.

Now, of course, there was Feliciano Vargas next door, and he was torn between wanting to sleep or read and seeing Feliciano again to ask him something. Ludwig stared at his reading for a long moment, debating, before rolling off his bed and opening the window.

The early morning air was completely still, no breeze to chase the heat away. Inside it was air-conditioned, and Ludwig shut the window again and carefully wrote a note in block letters. It took him a while before he came up with something that didn't sound weird.

Feliciano, I want to ask you something.

It was better than waiting for heatstroke to take him. He taped it to his window and went back to reading.

A few chapters later, he was absorbed in the diagrams, and it took him a minute to hear the tapping. He looked up. Another pencil hit his window, and Feliciano waved and held up a sign.

Hello Ludwig!

Ludwig opened the window and leaned out.

'Hello,' he said, trying to figure out what to do next that wasn't to smile like Feliciano made him want to do. 'How is your painting going?'

'Really well!' Feliciano ducked out of sight and pulled out a painting. It looked startlingly realistic. 'It's supposed to be Romantic, because look at you, Ludwig, you're straight out of the classics!' Feliciano looked at him like he expected an answer.

Ludwig didn't have an answer. He hadn't understood most of it, but he certainly wouldn't classify himself as Romantic.

'It's very good,' he said instead. Feliciano put the painting back down.

'You wanted to ask me something?'

'We're going downtown to Houston today,' he said. 'If you want to come, I can show you around. Or Gilbert can.'

'That sounds really cool!' Feliciano leaned forward and nearly toppled out of the window. He barely caught his pageboy cap. 'I'll go ask my nonno, hold on.'

Ludwig heard a distinctive sound of crashing as he disappeared down the stairs. He reappeared a few minutes later, swinging around his door frame, beaming.

'He said yes! Well, actually, he just sort of mumbled and yawned and drank a lot of coffee, but he won't mind. Lovi can't come, since he's busy with Antonio. Maybe they've started a book club. I'd like to join a book club, but I don't know any really good books. What's the book you're holding? You have good taste.'

'It's not a book, it's a manual,' Ludwig said, awkwardly holding it out. 'About a car.'

'So you can teach me how to hotwire a car, right?' Feliciano laughed and swung himself out to sit in his windowsill.

'Be careful.'

'I won't fall, and even if I did, there's a roof right here. Do you think it'll hold me? I could sit here and talk to you.'

'Best not to try it.' He hesitated. 'The sitting on the roof. We can talk from our windows.'

'Right, right.' Feliciano swung his legs. 'I like talking to you. When are you going?'

'At eight. You have fifteen minutes.'

'You get up really early.' Feliciano yawned hugely. 'I wasn't going to get up this early, but I set myself an alarm because my hand would have finished curing. Look!' He held up a hand made out of grey clay. 'It's lucky I did, I want to go to downtown Houston with you.'

'It's been six days, and you've already set up an art studio in your room?' Ludwig asked, stuck once again between bafflement and intrigue.

'No, my art studio is in the basement. I just kept this in my room because the heater in the basement makes funny noises in the morning and they scare me.'

'Of course,' Ludwig said, beyond questioning him at this point. 'Do you need a while to get ready?'

'I just need to…' Feliciano reached over to put the hand back and promptly fell backwards into his room with another crash. He sat up and pulled his cap back over his eyes. 'The hand's okay! I'm ready to go now.'

0o0o0o

Gilbert was tasked with handling them, and as soon as his grandfather was out of sight, immediately headed down a side street and stopped in front of a dusty, dark place with cloudy windows.

'Don't follow me inside,' he warned them sternly. 'I'm serious. Vati will have my head if you get in, and I think your grandfather would have something to say, too, Feli.' He pointed at Feliciano sternly. 'Do not go into this store. I just need to pick something up.'

As soon as he'd disappeared inside, Feliciano glanced sideways at him and grinned in a way that told exactly what he intended to do next.

'Feliciano!' Ludwig whisper-shouted, horrified. Feliciano took off his hat and paint smock and dropped them in the curb before slipping inside the store. Ludwig had no choice but to put his jacket in the same pile and follow.

The store was dimly lit and only a few people stood in the aisles. Most of them had dyed hair, one of them had piercings. Ludwig couldn't help staring. Feliciano gaped openly at the dyed hair.

'Ludwig, I want to dye my hair,' he whispered.

'No!'

'Shh, Gilbert's right over there.'

Ludwig was sure they were going to get caught, and then Gilbert would probably tell Vati, and he wouldn't be allowed to talk to Feliciano again. Gilbert was huddled in the very corner, searching rapidly through something. His hood was pulled up, and the only reason Ludwig knew it was him because of how he moved and his pale hands.

'We're going to get caught,' he told him.

'Only if you keep talking! I can almost see what he's looking at. They're...books, and magazines, but I can't see what's on the cover.'

Gilbert turned to grab something from his pocket and Ludwig pulled Feliciano back around the corner. They stayed flat against the wall for a long moment, hearts racing, before they heard Gilbert get up and turn their way.

'Go!' Ludwig hissed, and this time, Feliciano listened. They nearly collided into another pair as they ran out of the shop, and one of them swore.

They slammed against the wall outside, gasping for breath. Feliciano pulled his smock over his head and jammed on his cap. Ludwig slipped on his black jacket, and they stood in petrified, panting silence until Gilbert opened the door and strode out like nothing had happened. Ludwig and Feliciano were too terrified to say anything as they followed him.

'Next, we go to that music place,' he muttered, looking distracted. He kept fiddling with the inside of his jacket.

'Are you getting something for the person you love?' Feliciano asked.

Gilbert stopped dead and whirled on them. Ludwig reached out a hand to push Feliciano back, but Gilbert didn't look angry so much as scared, or as scared as he knew how to be.

'How do you-Ludwig, you told him?' he snarled. Ludwig stood his ground and raised his chin defiantly. It was Gilbert's own fault for never telling him anything and arguing with Vati so much.

Behind him, Feliciano was shaking.

'Sorry, Ludwig told me but it's my fault because I told him a secret of my own, and maybe it wasn't in that order but it's not his fault, you shouldn't get angry at him, and please don't get angry at me, either, but if you're going to I'd rather you get angry at me than him!' he babbled, frantically clutching Ludwig's sleeve.

Gilbert pulled them to the side of the sidewalk and rested a gentle hand on Feliciano's shoulder.

'I'm not angry at you, Feli. I promise.' He cast a dark look at Ludwig. 'My little brother? No, but if he knows what's good for him, he won't tell any more secrets.'

They weren't secrets. Gilbert snuck out night and day, and his silent longing was practically vibrating off him.

'So you are getting something? And you are in love with someone!' Feliciano jumped up. 'That's so exciting! Why don't you want to tell anyone? Love shouldn't be hidden. What are you getting them?'

'You wouldn't understand. Maybe when you're older.' Ludwig knew Gilbert's words were for him. 'I'm getting more sheet music. And you aren't going to tell anyone what I bought today, right?'

'Including the magazines you put in your jacket?' Feliciano asked. At Ludwig's incredulous look he backpedaled. 'He paid for them. I...I saw through the window.'

'You're observant.' Gilbert stood up. 'No, don't tell anyone about those, either. Okay?'

'Okay,' Feliciano agreed. Gilbert's eyes fixed on Ludwig.

'I won't tell Vati,' he said. Gilbert's eyes narrowed, but he nodded.

The music store was dusty and full of sunlight. Gilbert's stiff posture relaxed when he entered. The bell over the door rang gently.

'Don't touch anything,' he told them, but his voice was easy, almost light. 'Come over here. You see these records? Gorgeous.' His fingers hovered over the racks. 'I see a lot of Andrews Sisters. I wish…' He shook his head, humming something quietly as he picked out sheet music. Ludwig stood and watched. Feliciano huddled nearby.

'Why wouldn't we understand?' Feliciano asked.

'I don't know,' Ludwig said. He hated it when his brother acted like he wouldn't be able to handle anything. 'I wish he'd tell me.'

'Lovino never tells me anything.' Feliciano slumped, staring out the window. 'He says that it's because I wouldn't understand or I don't need to know. Like when I asked him about violets. He just said it wasn't important.'

They waited until Gilbert paid for the sheet music, which he also tucked into a pocket inside his jacket Ludwig hadn't noticed before.

'We'll understand when we're older, though,' Feliciano reassured before turning to Gilbert. 'Can we go to an art shop? Do they have those here?'

'They have everything here,' Gilbert said, seemingly relieved that they weren't talking about who he loved anymore. He pulled them out of the music shop.

The art shop was a tiny, messy thing, cluttered and smelling like paint and baking clay. People tripped over the boxes scattered on the floor. Half-finished projects covered every spare inch of space.

Feliciano loved it.

He ran ahead, examining a painting of a cathedral.

'Ludwig, come look at this!' he called, and Ludwig did. He still didn't understand art, but he understood Feliciano, or at least some of him.

'Ah, a memory of home. The lovely towers of Notre Dame,' a voice behind them said, and they turned.

'Francis!' Gilbert shouted, throwing an arm around the man with long blond hair, who laughed. 'Is everyone out downtown today?'

'Just me, my friend. Saturday is a good day to, ah-basket shop, as I'm sure you know. God will forgive me tomorrow.'

'If God hasn't already condemned you to the deepest levels of hell, I'll do it personally,' Gilbert said.

'That would be a waste of my pretty face.' Francis ruffled his hair. 'What are you doing here? I thought you would have come alone.'

'Not allowed.' Gilbert shrugged. Ludwig remembered that argument, ending with Gilbert not being allowed to take the car by himself. 'Vati's getting something for church tomorrow and the kids wanted to come.'

Their eyes flicked together, and Francis abruptly changed the subject and knelt down beside them. Even Ludwig felt a little bit disarmed by his smile.

'And who are you?' Francis chuckled as he looked down at Feliciano. 'Let's see-wild curls, artist's cap, paint smock. Antonio talked about a certain somebody's younger brother, now don't tell me...Feliciano?'

'Yes!' Feliciano looked delighted. 'Antonio talked about me?'

'He talked more about Lovino, but yes. He didn't mention you were quite so adorable.'

'Hands off,' Gilbert growled playfully, elbowing Francis in the side. He backed off, hands raised.

'Fine, fine. But Feliciano-and Ludwig-should you ever have any questions, feel free to find me. Gilbert knows my address.' He winked and turned to Gilbert. 'Have you seen Antonio? He said he would be downtown today.'

Feliciano tugged him backwards.

'Francis has answers,' he whispered excitedly.

'Francis is a questionable source at best,' Ludwig told him, but he couldn't deny that he wanted to know.

0o0o0o

Fixing dates to slang is difficult.

:: The soaring, satisfying finale of the music in a movie