"Happy Valentine's Day!"
Ludwig relived the moment of Feliciano giving him a box of chocolate, before scurrying off. Besides texting each other a few times, he hadn't seen Feliciano since, which was last on the weekend.
Ludwig waited for the bell of his last class to ring, thinking how nice it was for it to be Friday. Once he was out, he contemplated on whether he would go to the library or back home. Ludwig's phone vibrated a few times, and he found out that it was Feliciano texting him.
'hey ur out of school now right?'
Ludwig quickly texted back, 'Yeah, I'm out.'
'oh cool! i thought i would u let know that theres this new smoothie place around there. the smoothies r good but whats cool is that the owners bring their dogs and theyre really cute! i know u like dogs so i bet u would love it.'
'Hm, that sounds interesting. I'll be sure to check it out some time. Are you doing anything?'
Feliciano didn't respond to Ludwig's text for some time. He eventually texted him a 'no'. Ludwig asked him if he wanted to do anything, and after some time again Feliciano agreed to the idea.
Feliciano was already waiting outside once Ludwig made it back to the apartments. He gave Ludwig a wave and came towards him. The first thing Ludwig noticed about Feliciano was that he was very pale. Feliciano merely explained that he had a cold and he would be fine going out.
They ended up going to the smoothie shop. Ludwig understood what Feliciano meant about the dogs; they were small dogs, but they were cute. Once they had their smoothies, they sat down at a small table. Feliciano frowned and began to play with his straw, looking as if he was going to vomit.
"Are you alright?" Ludwig asked. "We could leave if you'd like."
Feliciano looked down at his cup and then to Ludwig. "…Could we leave? I guess I'm sicker than I thought, sorry!"
Ludwig inclined his head. "Yes, that's fine. You don't have to apologize though!"
Ludwig and Feliciano walked back to the apartments. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Feliciano questioned, tilting his head.
"If you would be feeling okay, sure. But you should probably rest."
"I may do that!" Feliciano said, giving an awkward chuckle. He made his way towards his door and opened it. "See you!"
After watching Feliciano go inside, Ludwig reached into his pocket to grab his phone. I still have time to go to the library for a bit, Ludwig noted to himself after checking the time. He had approximately three hours before it would close.
Shatter!
The sound of something breaking came from Feliciano's room. It possibly could have been an act of clumsiness from the Italian, or something that his older brother was doing. Just to make sure he was fine, Ludwig decided to check on him. He knocked a few times on the door. "Feliciano, are you alright?"
The only response was silence.
Ludwig then gripped the doorknob, contemplating whether to open it or not. This was too eerie for him; he couldn't hear a sound. Not even the usual mumbles he heard when he came to visit, or the sounds of Feliciano's brother shouting about something.
In the end Ludwig opened the door. At first he only peeked his head inside, but then he made his way inside when he didn't see anyone. "Feliciano?" Ludwig cooed, still not receiving an answer.
Ludwig walked around until he found Feliciano in the kitchen. There was glass shattered on the floor, and in the middle of it was Feliciano, who was lying on the ground. Feliciano seemed to notice Ludwig's presence, as he tried to hoist himself up, but ended up falling down right away.
Ludwig immediately went to Feliciano's aid. He was unconscious for a few seconds but then came to his senses, his face clearly disorientated. This time Feliciano managed to stand up but his legs were unsteady, so Ludwig helped him walk to a couch. Once he sat down, Feliciano began to hack until he could catch his breath. Ludwig was about to call emergency services until Feliciano stopped him. "Wait, wait… I'm fine."
Ludwig gave Feliciano an unsure glance. "Is your head feeling alright? Would you like water?"
"Mhm, it's fine. And yes please."
He went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. Feliciano shakily began to drink out of the cup, but in the end he ended up wheezing until he could catch his breath again. Ludwig sat next to him as Feliciano began to calm down.
"Sorry if I worried you," sighed Feliciano. "Luckily Lovino isn't here so he didn't see that happen again."
"Again?"
Feliciano took a breath in, realizing his slip-up. "I didn't want you to know but… People like me don't live that long."
. . .
After a morning at the gym, Ludwig couldn't help but think about the previous day. In the end he helped out Feliciano by cleaning up the glass mess. Apparently he was trying to get water, but in the end he collapsed. Feliciano pleaded with Ludwig to not tell Lovino about what happened. Ludwig tried to learn more about the situation, but Feliciano showed that he was uncomfortable by frowning at his questions or trying to change the subject.
Ludwig decided to text Feliciano. It was a long shot for whether he would respond, but Ludwig had to try.
'Hey, how are you doing?'
Within a few minutes, Feliciano responded. 'good! Kiku just came over and we were going to do something. Do u want to come over?'
Ludwig stared at his phone for a few seconds, baffled. 'Sure.'
When he arrived, the one to open the door was Kiku. "Hello, Ludwig."
"Hello," Ludwig glanced around the room. "Where's Feliciano? Is he alright?"
Kiku nodded. "He's getting some things."
Ludwig took a relieved breath in. Kiku led him to the couch, and they both sat down together.
"Did Feliciano tell you about last night?"
Kiku shook his head. "No, what happened?"
Ludwig went over the gist. He explained how Feliciano was pale when they hung out, to the moment he collapsed.
Kiku stayed silent before deciding to explain some things. "Feliciano has been battling an illness for a few years, and it recently went terminal."
Ludwig's eyes widened. I wish I knew earlier, he thought. If he did, he could have seen what was going to happen.
"Feliciano doesn't want people to know though," Kiku started, as if he read Ludwig's mind. "He doesn't like people worrying about him."
A few minutes later Feliciano came into the room. He was carrying a few small canvases and slowly sat them down. "Ludwig, you're here! I didn't even hear you!" Feliciano grinned. "I thought we could paint!"
They each carried a canvas out to the balcony. Feliciano was a gifted painter; he was already painting perfect shades. He helped out Kiku a few times, who was getting the hang of using a canvas. While Ludwig was good at drawing, he had no idea with what he was doing while painting.
Soon Kiku had to leave due to his schedule. Both Ludwig and Feliciano walked him out, and Feliciano offered to save his painting to work on it later.
Ludwig and Feliciano began to clean up. Feliciano showed him where to store the paintings, and how to handle them. Ludwig managed to get a glimpse of Feliciano's previous paintings. They awed him; even from what he saw they were great. They had vibrant colors and great details.
Feliciano finished cleaning out the balcony. "Do you want something to eat?" he asked once Ludwig came back out.
"I'm fine, thank you though."
Feliciano turned on the television. As he surfed through channels, Ludwig tried to think of something to say. "How did you and Kiku meet?"
"We met in elementary school."
Feliciano turned the channel into some romance drama show. Ludwig wasn't a fan of the genre, but he told Feliciano he was fine with the show.
They both watched in silence. The couple in the show both began to cry outside in the rain, but in the end they started to make out. The show then cut to commercials.
"You're a really good painter! How long have you been painting?" Ludwig asked, deciding to take advantage of the commercial break.
"Thank you! And I've been painting since I was little. I think I was five when I started." Feliciano smiled.
"That's great," Ludwig paused for a moment. Feliciano acted completely normal despite what had happened. Even with what Kiku told him, he couldn't help but worry. "If you don't mind answering, could you at least tell me why you don't want your brother to know what happened?"
Feliciano's smile instantly turned into a frown, and he glanced downwards, not responding. Ludwig didn't go further into matter.
Ludwig came to an understanding that the topic was too sensitive for his friend. "Feliciano, I just want you to know that I'll always be here for you whenever you need me."
Feliciano still stared down at the ground. He squeezed his hands, but softly whispered, "Thanks."
Note: Feliciano's illness is completely fictional.
