I would like to hear period ideas on old places.

0o0o0o

Feliciano woke up first. The world was silent and mist clung to the windows, but it was quickly being burned away by the sun.

Ludwig looked even younger when he was asleep. The crease between his eyes was gone and his hair was loose. Feliciano knew he shouldn't stare, but he really was beautiful. The only flaw was that his blue-as-the-sky eyes were more shadowed now, from the weight of arguments. Feliciano hated it.

He slowly pulled out his sketchbook, careful that it didn't rustle against his blankets, and began to draw the pliant lines of Ludwig's shoulders, and the bend to his neck, and it was only when he looked up to study the way shade fell over his brow that Feliciano noticed the angles of his face were different.

He'd drawn Ludwig before. He'd painted him smiling and laughing and thinking, blue eyes bright, and the curious, hesitant, alight way Ludwig always looked at him, and he had the planes of how he fell together memorized. Or he had, until he realized they were changing.

Feliciano put down his sketchbook and leaned closer, a strange kind of entrancement making his whole body hum. He was a bit sharper and clean-cut, more like his brother, but not to his extremes. Ludwig had a definite gentleness to his strength that Gilbert's wildness did not for lack of care.

Feliciano wondered what he looked like. Lovino had what his nonno called classic angles, like a Roman statue. Feliciano had tried to find his own profile in the mirror and decided to wait until he was older.

Ludwig would be wonderful as a carving, Feliciano thought. He wished he had a better talent with a chisel, because sometimes his paintings didn't capture the perfect symmetry of him, the way he moved, with no unnecessary step-Ludwig was a work of art unto himself in a way Feliciano didn't know how to explain to him. Maybe if he secretly got better, he could eventually ask him to model.

Feliciano couldn't remember a time where he'd been allowed to stare at him for so long, and it was a guilty, exciting thing. His eyes drifted down to Ludwig's shoulders, and the lines of muscles standing out on his arms.

His stomach did a funny thing, like it had in the basement of the church, but tenfold, because the nervous excitement was heightening all his emotions, and this was Ludwig, who had beautiful blue eyes, and Feliciano wanted to do something stupid and wonderful and right like all his feelings and very nearly did.

He pulled away, heart pounding, thoughts confusing him. He wanted to do something, but he felt like that would cross their lines, whatever those were now that they felt so blurred. Whatever it had been, it was more dangerous and felt even more right than ti amo.

Feliciano had been thinking about his promise to tell what it meant. He had assured himself that it was fine, because they were friends, and he couldn't stop himself from saying it. But now, staring at Ludwig, he wasn't so sure of anything except that he couldn't stop himself from speaking.

At that moment, Ludwig stirred, blue eyes catching the morning sunlight, and Feliciano's heart jumped and he kicked his sketchbook underneath the covers before Ludwig saw it.

'Feliciano,' Ludwig mumbled, but he looked happy, gloriously and unabashedly happy like he hadn't for weeks, and Feliciano laughed even though his voice broke and threw his arms around him.

'Buongiorno!'

Ludwig's surprised arms came up to make sure they didn't fall off the bed, and they laid there, staring at each other, delighted and nervous and happy.

Ludwig chuckled as he figured it out, still half-asleep, and his smile made Feliciano's world bright. 'Guten tag.'

'You're-' Feliciano couldn't say happier than I've seen you in days, because he didn't want to talk about Gilbert and the arguments, and he wanted this moment, with Ludwig's heart beating against his. 'You're awake. Did you sleep well? Do you want to eat breakfast? Nonno won't mind cooking more.'

'I slept well. And breakfast sounds good, if your grandfather doesn't mind.' Ludwig let him go, but his hands lingered to fix his hair. His brow creased as he did, but it was different, a problem-solving look instead of a worried look, and it looked much better on him. That's what Ludwig liked to do, Feliciano had found-he fixed the world to make it better and fixed Feliciano's strange thoughts into something better.

'Okay. And Ludwig, I'm glad you're here.' Feliciano smiled again, and Ludwig's eyes lit up in the shy, delighted way they always did.

0o0o0o

Ludwig winced when he picked up his utensils at the table, and Feliciano remembered with a start about his hands. He'd been so distracted yesterday he'd forgotten, and berated himself.

'We have to change your bandages,' he insisted, pulling him towards the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. 'Lovi? Can you come show me which one is the antibiotic?'

Lovino, who had just come in, swore and rushed over. Nonno turned with a frown, but when he saw his bandages, he dropped his spatula and followed.

'What happened?' Lovino asked. There were warring emotions on his face that Feliciano had been seeing more of-like he thought he was making a bad decision with Ludwig, but right now, his face was twisted in furious concern. 'Feliciano, what happened to him?'

Feliciano looked desperately at Ludwig to explain. He didn't look at anyone.

'I fell,' he said. 'Yesterday. After school.'

Feliciano opened his mouth to protest, but Ludwig minutely shook his head.

'Fine.' Lovino nudged them both towards the bathroom. 'Nonno, the toast is burning. I'll handle them.'

Feliciano followed. Lovino closed the door harder than necessary and rounded on them both.

'I understand why you'd lie to Roma,' he said. 'But tell Feli the truth.'

'You-?' Feliciano started.

'Antonio told me everything.' Lovino briskly started rewrapping his bandages. 'Gilbert...your brother is waiting. At home.'

'I told him,' Ludwig said quietly. 'About the fistfight. Feliciano, I didn't get into it.'

Relief rushed through him. 'Oh, good, because even though you're really strong, I don't want you to get into any fights, because you could get seriously hurt and do you know how much health care costs here?'

'A lot,' Lovino said tightly. 'I know. Feliciano, hand me the cough medicine.'

'It's almost empty,' Feliciano said in surprise. 'Do you have a cold?'

'No.' Lovino grabbed it back by himself and shoved it back with enough force to make a few bottles fall over. He swore again and threw them back in, but Feliciano saw that they were all the same cough syrup.

0o0o0o

All through the day, Gilbert acted better. Ludwig saw him keep his head down around people he hated, around words he hated, even though he grinned sharp and satisfied when the seniors came in with black eyes and bandaged split lips and wore his bruises like trophies. He'd even gave Ludwig a pair of thin gloves to hide his scraped and stinging palms.

It made him feel worse for planning to go to the place Feliciano had talked about. He found himself on the verge of telling Gilbert half a dozen times, but the words never formed the right explanation. Ludwig felt like he was leaving, even though it was fair.

The worst part was that he wanted to go to the place. It held a strange pull for him, and so he told Gilbert he had a project to do at school, promised him he would get home, watched him leave, and started walking.

Feliciano and an older boy with long blond hair caught up to him near the art shop. Feliciano was flushed and beaming, and the sight of him made Ludwig's insides untwist slightly.

'I'm scared,' Feliciano whispered. 'But I'm also excited. I'm really excited, because this is-this feels important. This feels like something real. Does that make sense?'

'Of course,' Ludwig said. He understood what he meant about the raw, authentic feeling of this, and the potential to understand this side of the world. Feliciano laughed and took his hand.

'This is Feliks, by the way, he's really nice. Toris-he's waiting at the place-has a car, he'll get us home early.'

Ludwig looked at him and missed a step. Feliks' face was swollen green and yellow, like a violent flower. He grinned, but it looked pained, and rippled his fingers.

'I'm Feliks,' he said. Ludwig could hear his uncertainty underneath the pained rasp of his voice as his eyes lingered on Ludwig's hair and eyes-the places he matched Gilbert.

Feliciano caught his eye, worry reflecting in his face. He mouthed tell you later. They kept walking in the evening light, with the edge of a cooler wind biting at the edges of their coats and Feliciano's cap.

0o0o0o

The group was darker and more colourful than Ludwig had expected, full to bursting of people moving and laughing and twisting together on the floor. The lights only provided glimpses of bright hair, bright clothes, and bright, fierce smiles.

'Whoa,' Feliciano said. Feliks stepped forward to take someone's hand with shoulder-length brown hair and kind, sad eyes. His entire demeanor changed in an instant. The bruises seemed to fade, and he held himself like Gilbert did with wounds-like they made him a warrior.

'Hey, Toris,' he said. Toris smiled at him before his attention shifted to Feliciano before fixing on Ludwig. His eyes weighed on him the same way Feliks' had.

'You brought…?'

'Feliciano wanted to,' Feliks told him but glanced back. His eyes betrayed the confidence in his voice before he abruptly turned and shouted to the group to come in.

Feliciano squeezed his hand as they sat down. He couldn't make out faces well in the shifting lights, but his golden eyes were the same as always.

'Alright, alright.' Feliks waved to the crowd, the tension vanished from his shoulders. 'Like, don't look at me like that, Emma.' He gestured at his face, but it was a proud, wide show. 'Ivan caught me. Who wants to share today?'

The energy here was different. Ludwig saw people leaning against one another, whispering, laughing like he never saw on the street. Something about this place was charged, like Feliciano was, and he wanted to be part of it.

'I'm sure you know who I am,' a voice came from beside whoever Emma was, and Ludwig saw long brown hair and realized with a jolt that it was Elizabeta. 'Elizabeta Héderváry, female. I heard my friend got into a fight.'

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

'It's definitely, like, the elephant in the room,' Feliks agreed. 'Yeah, let's skip the introduction tonight and get on with it. Raise your hand if you don't know what happened yesterday.'

Nobody raised their hand. Ludwig felt vaguely sick.

'He was at school today,' someone called from the back, with a cross-shaped hair pin. 'His bruises really showed.'

'Did you see the guys he went after, though?' The boy next to the speaker elbowed him, grinning, and imitated a falsetto. 'Hey, dude? What happened to your face?' He dropped his voice comically deep. 'Made the mistake of fighting the white knight, can't you see?' He and the people around him laughed and he held up a hand to high-five his friend, who reluctantly did so. He beamed.

'His methods aren't the cleanest, but he's a revolutionary,' Toris said, suppressed admiration shining through in his voice.

'Gilbert Beilschmidt is a damn hero!' the second speaker shouted, garnering cheers. Even Feliks looked impressed.

'Shame he can't come anymore,' the boy with the hair clip said, which silenced the cheers.

'They're…' Ludwig couldn't make sense of anything.

'Gilbert used to come here,' Feliciano said excitedly. 'And people here know him. Does he fight a lot?'

'I only ever see the aftermath,' Ludwig said, but a small ember of admiration was settling inside of him for this side of his brother. He was starting to realize how little he really knew of Gilbert.

0o0o0o

How were certain places viewed?

:: Quotes heard in passing written down on skin