"Do you want to hold him?"

Ludwig turned around, caught off guard. He hadn't been aware the store worker had come up behind him. Ludwig cleared his throat, hoping the blush wasn't noticeable. "No, sorry. I was just looking…" He jerked his head toward the cage.

The worker smiled, leaning down toward the puppy. "Isn't he cute? Such a good dog! He never tries to run away when I put him down to clean his cage. Some of the other puppies…" the worker laughed, shaking his head. "I'll be over here, if you need me!" The worker smiled, heading toward the checkout counter.

Ludwig frowned. The worker was new; Ludwig came here every couple of days to look at the dogs, and he had never seen this man before.

The dog whined, pressing its face against the bars of the cage. Ludwig reached through the bars, rubbing the dog on the top of the head. A little Dalmatian. Ludwig murmured to it in German before exiting the store.

…

"Are you sure you don't want to hold him?"

Ludwig was once again caught off guard. The same worker from the other day was there, hands behind his back, rocking on the balls of his feet. He had a name tag now.

"No, still just looking."

Feliciano laughed, reaching by Ludwig with a key and unlocking the cage. "Well, I think he wants to see you!" Feliciano caught the dog easily in his arms, smiling brightly at Ludwig. "He missed you the other day, …?"

"Beilschmidt. Ludwig." Ludwig cursed himself. "Ludwig. I'm Ludwig."

Feliciano nodded, paying more attention to the dog than the slip of the tongue. "Well, he missed you, Ludwig! He was all mopey. Here, hold him!"

Ludwig took a step back, shaking his head. "No, I… I have three dogs already, I shouldn't…"

Feliciano laughed, and Ludwig felt a little foolish and expectantly happy at the sound. "I didn't say you had to take him home! Here, just hold him!"

Ludwig tried once again to protest, but the dog ended up in his hands, anyways. It really did have an adorable temperament—especially for a Dalmatian. He licked at Ludwig's face, and then attempted to chew his ear.

"That smile looks nice on you, Ludwig!"

Ludwig's head shot up, slightly mortified Feliciano was still standing there. The shorter man didn't seem to notice, too busy poking at the puppy from behind. The Dalmation yipped and attempted to turn around, nearly falling out of Ludwig's hands.

"So, three dogs, huh?"

Ludwig set the dog on the ground, grateful to hide from Feliciano's gaze. "Yes. A Golden, a Shepard, and a Dachshund." He stayed close to the ground, playing with the dog.

"Wow, no wonder you come in here so often!" Ludwig felt his face heat up once again. "I just moved here, so I was looking for a job, and the girl who used to work here—you must have known her! Emma?—she told me it's super easy, but a lot of work!"

Ludwig's eyebrows furrowed. "How can something be easy, but hard?"

Feliciano crouched down near Ludwig, their knees brushing. He laughed again, and Ludwig's stomach did a backflip. "Well, puppies and kitties and birds aren't hard to work with! They're easy, see? But you have to make sure they're clean, and that they have enough water and food, and that someone plays with them!" Feliciano picked up the Dalmatian, giving it a kiss on the nose.

Ludwig stood, adjusting his tie. "Ah, I have to get home. My brother, he is coming over." Ludwig realized he didn't need to explain himself, but pressed on. "Good bye, Feliciano." He turned and walked away as fast as he could without running.

…

Feliciano let out another one of his delightful laughs. "Oh, wow! Who's this?"

"Berlitz," Ludwig answered, letting the Golden Retriever walk closer to Feliciano.

"I was wondering why you came in late!" Feliciano began to pet the dog, looking like Ludwig had just brought him a Christmas present. "He's gorgeous! Oh! We should let him meet our puppy!"

Ludwig's mind raced over what the word 'our' meant as Feliciano unlocked the cage, putting the Dalmatian on the ground. The puppy scampered toward Berlitz, knocking into the older dog's legs. Berlitz barked, tail wagging.

Ludwig watched Feliciano watch the dogs. He scrunched up his nose when he smiled, Ludwig noted. Feliciano's eyes flicked up to Ludwig's, and Ludwig looked back down at the dogs.

The Dalmatian began to try and chew at Berlitz's let, and Feliciano intervened. "No!" He repeated the soft admonishment a couple of times before picking up the Dalmatian, smiling at Ludwig apologetically. "I'm sorry! He doesn't listen, sometimes!"

"It's fine!" Ludwig answered quickly. He coughed. "It's fine," he repeated, voice deeper.

…

"Can I tell you a secret, Ludwig?"

Ludwig felt his heart speed up. Feliciano smiled playfully.. He was supposed to be ringing Ludwig's dog toy out, but he was instead leaning against the checkout counter.

"Sure," Ludwig answered, throat dry.

"I'm more of a cat person," Feliciano whispered.

Ludwig blinked. "Really?"

Feliciano laughed, standing straight and ringing up Ludwig's toy. "Yeah! I have a cat at home named Pooki. I like dogs, too—our dog is adorable, Ludwig!—but kitties are so much cuter! I like their ears and tails and little paws, and even their scratchy tongues!"

Feliciano was a very interesting person.

…

"Ludwig!" Feliciano gaped. "You're buying our dog?"

Ludwig nodded, holding the Dalmatian. "Yeah."

Feliciano's face looked oddly conflicted. His smile seemed strained. "That's—that's great! What're you going to name him?" He headed toward the checkout counter, avoiding Ludwig's eyes. "You should name him 'Spot' in German, don't you think?"

Ludwig followed slowly, unsure. "Maybe. Is… Is everything okay?"

Feliciano whipped around, laughing loudly. "Of course! Why wouldn't everything be okay? You'll have our dog and he can play with Berlitz and you can still come in for food and stuff… Right? Or maybe dog toys, because puppies chew on stuff so you'll need lots of toys—but you'll still come in."

Ludwig furrowed his eyebrows. "Of course I'll come in still."

Feliciano took the Dalmatian from Ludwig, looking at him instead of Ludwig. "But you probably won't come in every day anymore, huh?"

Ludwig laughed, and Feliciano looked up. "There isn't anything that would keep…" Ludwig realized what he was saying and stopped, cursing at himself. "Well, I… I…" Feliciano was looking at him with those eyes… "Well, our dog will miss you. Of course I have to come in, still."

Ludwig had never heard anything so beautiful as Feliciano's laugh after he said that.

From becomeonewithhetalia: Human!AU where Ludwig and Feliciano meet each other in the little pet shop on the corner since Lud likes to visit it regularly to see all the puppies and Feli just started working there recently.