Pairings brought up/mentioned: GerIta

-2.26-

As soon as the doctor enters the room, white coat buttoned professionally, stethoscope wrapped about his neck, I leap up from my seat, barraging him with an angry horde of questions.

"How's Ludwig? Is he going to be okay? Oh Madonna, his arm's broken, isn't it?! Noooo, his arm can't be broken! If his arm's broken, how am I supposed to drag him through the manor so he can watch me paint?! Wahh, Signore Doctor-man, please tell me there's no permanent damage; I don't know what I'd do if he-"

"Feli, shut up!" Fratello pushes me aside, "Allow me to apologize for my idiota of a fratello. I don't know why, but for some stupid reason he's concerned about the German bastard. Any news on that?"

The doctor straightens himself up a bit before speaking, "Oui, he should recover. His arm was almost pulled out of the socket, but we must remember that spirits heal faster than humans do. It will take a few days or so for the muscles to be good-as-new, but he should be perfectly fine."

I visibly brighten, and then shove past both of them, sprinting towards the patient's rooms, completely tuning out Lovino's shouts of protest. I dash down the hallway opening each door I pass and slamming it shut when the gray wolf's not in there with a whine. At the twenty-first door, I yank on the handle, nearly pushing it closed once more, before exclaiming "LUDDY!"

He grunts under my weight as I tackle him on the hospital bed, "Guten tag, Feli. It's good to see you again."

"Wahh, Luddyyyy, I thought your arm was broooookkeeeenn!" I cry loudly into his chest.

He sighs, returning the embrace. "I can see that."

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" And there's Lovino.

"MIOS DIOS, I LEAVE YOU TO YOUR OWN DEVICES FOR ONE MINUTE, ONE GODDAMN MINUTE, AND YOU GO AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MY FRATELLO, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

"But, fratello-" I begin.

"NO, SHUT UP, FELI! I'M NOT DONE YET-"

"Alright, time to take a siesta." Right on cue, Toni enters the room and hoists a still screaming fratello onto his shoulder. "Have fun, you guys~!"

All is silent as the two walk off, one reluctantly and one with a spring in his step.

"... What is up with Antonio and slinging Lovino over his shoulder like that?"

"I have absolutely no idea." I grin and squeeze him tighter, "Ve~ I like hugs!"

"Damn, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starved!" My bruder cackles madly, "But, no, seriously, what's for lunch?"

"Yes, I must admit that after that window fiasco, I'm quite famished as well." Roderich hums.

Francis clasps his hands together, "Yes, snacks, here we come!"

"I can go for some more tomatoes," Antonio gives a lazy grin, following some of the others, Lovino still on his shoulder, red-faced and fuming. I kid you not, the fox spirit had kept a firm grip on the furious Italian the entire time, even in the car.

"I'm not really hungry right now. Are you?" Feliciano asks me.

I shrug, wincing at the usage of my shoulder, "Not particularly, but I don't think it's a good idea to try painting again."

He makes a thoughtful noise, "Well, do you want to wander around the neighbor's vineyards then?"

"Alright, sure."

A short while later, we walk between rows upon rows of grapes, simply taking in the tranquil breeze and comforting silence. I regard Feliciano with a calculating gaze.

He's really adorable.

His cutesy doe-eyes are open for once, a deep, perfect amber, tawny locks attempting to obscure the hued ovals. His head tilts from side-to-side in some unheard beat, causing the curl sticking out from the side of his head to shift in time, as well as following the light bounce in his steps. Fair skin seems to nearly glow when basking in the light of an unclouded sun. He seems almost angelic. He's opposite to myself, being warm tones and soft, rounded corners. Comparing him to a sculpture simply wouldn't do any justice; their cold, hard edges are only a mere echo, rotting in his shadow. His smiles practically radiate happiness, and he must be the most innocent-minded person to be able to say he "slept with Luddy last night" and think nothing of it. Sometimes, he can be too innocent for his own good. Take, for example, innocently falling off the roof. And I purposely fell after him. I didn't even think about it; I simply acted on instinct and did the best I could to save him.

At the thought of Feliciano splattered upon the ground in a grotesque mess of flesh and bone, I begin to feel faint. And that's when I realize that I'd jump after him again if I had to. And that's when I realize that I've never felt this tightening in my chest at the idea of someone getting hurt before, even when sick.

I pale at the conclusion that this is not an infection.

"Gilbert, we need to talk."

"What- hey! What's the big deal; I was eating an awesome sandwich!" The arctic wolf exclaims as I drag him upstairs.

I grit my teeth, "Like I said, we need to talk."

"Ja, I kind of got that, but why do we need to do that up here? What's so important you can't talk about it in front of the others?!"

"I'll explain in a bit," I quickly swing open the door to the room I'd been sleeping in while here, shoving Gilbert in before shutting and locking the door behind me.

"Alright, what's up with you? You're acting funny," As I turn to meet his scarlet gaze, he gives me a slightly worried look, then splits his face in half with a devious grin, "Kesesesese, don't tell me you somehow hit your head when you fell earlier?"

Why did I go to Gilbert again?

Oh, ja, that's right; he's the only one I know and trust enough to ask about this kind of thing. Sheisse.

I advert my eyes to the floor, suddenly embarrassed. "I, well," I sigh, "I want to talk about my feelings."

This seems to automatically shut him up. "You- you what?!"

I stare directly at him and repeat, "I want to talk about my feelings."

He looks absolutely dumbfounded, eyes wide and jaw nearly hitting the ground. "Holy shit, you're serious. West, my stoic, emotionally guarded little bro, wants to talk about his feelings. Who are you and what the actual fuck did you do with mein bruder?!"

I glare, "What- I didn't do anything to myself, you dummkopf! I've just been feeling some strange emotion I've never felt before, and I want some advice on how to suppress it!"

"Suppress it?! Why would I teach you how to better imitate a rock in your day-to-day life?!"

"Because I don't know how to react to this! Don't you care about my emotional well-being?!"

"Well, ja, but you really need to learn not to fear this shit! Emotions are what make us the people we are, and if you need to cry, then, hell, cry away! It's healthy to do that!"

"I don't need to cry!"

"Then why are we yelling at each other?!"

"Because I just want you to tell me what the fuck is going on with my emotions!"

"How am I supposed to help you if I don't know what's going on?!"

"Then let me tell you!"

"Go ahead!"

"Fine, I will!"

"Fine, and I'll listen!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

I take a deep breath and seat myself down on the bed, my idiot of a bruder crash-landing next to me. "I've been feeling weird around someone lately."

"Weird like puke-inducing weird, or weird like schmetterling weird?"

"Neither."

"Huh, really?"

"Ja, I know right? It's like this odd, gut instinct to do things. Like, when he fell off the roof earlier. Me going after him and grabbing onto the windowsill was an example of that. When I'm around Feliciano, I react more quickly and on instinct as opposed to rational thought. It's like, when he's in danger, I can't think about anything besides his safety, and I'm not even really thinking anyways. I'm just doing the first thing that comes to mind! It's- It's like my subconscious is wired to- to protect him or something. Bruder, what does this mean?"

Gilbert gives me a long look.

At dinner, everyone is eerily silent. Plus, some people are acting weirder than normal. Take, for example, Gilbert. He keeps sneaking glances at me for seemingly no good reason. It kind of freaks me out, having all of the known troublemaker's attentions on me. It's especially creepy with his frankly demonic eye color; it feels like he's staring into my soul! However, by far, the most unusual part about this is the look in his eyes. It's not malice; it's not contempt; it's not even mischief. No, the arctic wolf's gaze is very clearly laced in curiosity. What about me is making Gilbert so curious?! Wahh, it's scaring me!

And then, besides the strangely inquirous one of the group, there's still Luddy to worry about too. He simply sits there, poking at his food with a silver fork, a sense of lost-ness in his ice-like eyes. I don't have a very good feeling about this. What if he's sick or something? What if he got an infection from his wounds and just didn't want to tell us? What if he's dying? What if he actually dies? Oh no, then he'd probably haunt cousin Francis's house for the rest of eternity! That would be terrible; I don't want my cousin to be stalked by some ghost! What if Ludwig blames his death on Francis? What if he tries to avenge himself? What if he kills everyone in the house?! Nooooo, he can't do that! I DON'T WANT TO DIEEE!

Everyone stares at me in confusion. "Whoops, how much of that did I say out loud?" I laugh nervously.

"The 'I don't want to die' part." Fratello responds flatly, "The fuck is wrong with you this time?"

"Ve~ Accidenti!" I giggle, "I must have been thinking aloud, sorry!"

"Thinking about what?" Luddy gives me the most adorable look of worry. Aww, he's so cute when he's upset!

"Oh, nothing," I shovel some pasta into my mouth, "I was just thinking about how bad it would be if you died from an infection you never told us about and took out your pent up frustration on something more valuable than the wall!"

"Oh mon dieu, please don't tell me he smashes more vases in your fantasy."

"Nope!"

"Merci!"

"He smashes something more fleshy than that!"

"C-comment?!"

"Just what do you take me for, some psychotic, axe-wielding murderer?!"

Simultaneously, Lovino mutters si and Toni freezes at the mention of an 'axe-wielding murderer.'

"I didn't do it," The fox blurts out.

"Didn't do what?!" Arthur glares.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about anymore, since I zoned out until 'axe-wielding murderer,' but whatever it is, I swear I didn't do it."

Gilbert breaks out in a bellowing laugh, "Geez Toni, what do you think this is, our pirate days?"

"'Pirate days?!'" Luddy sends his fratello a stern look, "What about pirates?!"

He shuts up at Ludwig's intervention, "Uh…"

"Again, I didn't do it."

"No one said you did, you damn tomato bastard!"

"So… no one's going to break anymore vases, right?"

"Gilbert."

"Roddy, help me; West's giving me the evil eye!"

"You know what, why do I even bother with you bloody idiots-"

"Gilbert, I want nothing to do with this argument, and that's all I'm going to say on the matter."

"Gott verdammt, Roddy-"

"Gilbert, I am going to kill you one of these days, so help me Gott."

Yay, everyone's back to normal again!

A/N:

Meow. =3 In this sub-part, I gave away a small bit about Antonio and Gilbert's shared past! (And yes, they knew each other before all of this.) Also, this is the second to last sub-part, as well as being the build up to 2.28's big, magic bond-thing. Honestly, there's not all that much to talk about here, since I've covered basically all of what I wanted to in the other author's notes. So... yeah.

Responses to review(s):

Seele Esser Deutsch: Nah, it's cool. =3 Due, whaaaat? No, the more we hurt Ludwig, the more upset Feliciano gets! DX (I'm shamelessly going to continue putting Ludwig in dangerous and overall ridiculous situations anyways. You're welcome)